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Afghanistan 'falling into hands of Taliban' |
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Written by NotOverYet
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Wednesday, 28 November 2007 |
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Frontline getting closer to Kabul, says thinktank
Aid not going to those who need it most, warns Oxfam
Graphic: Taliban presence in Afghanistan
The Guardian
Richard Norton-Taylor
Thursday November 22, 2007
The Taliban has a permanent presence in 54% of Afghanistan and the
country is in serious danger of falling into Taliban hands, according
to a report by an independent thinktank with long experience in the
area. Despite tens of thousands of Nato-led troops and billions of
dollars in aid poured into the country, the insurgents, driven out by
the American invasion in 2001, now control "vast swaths of
unchallenged territory, including rural areas, some district centres,
and important road arteries", the Senlis Council says in a report
released yesterday.
On the basis of what it calls exclusive research, it warns that the
insurgency is also exercising a "significant amount of psychological
control, gaining more and more political legitimacy in the minds of
the Afghan people who have a long history of shifting alliances and
regime change".
It says the territory controlled by the Taliban has increased and the
frontline is getting closer to Kabul - a warning echoed by the UN
which says more and more of the country is becoming a "no go" area
for western aid and development workers.
The council goes as far as to state: "It is a sad indictment of the
current state of Afghanistan that the question now appears to be not
if the Taliban will return to Kabul, but when ... and in what form.
The oft-stated aim of reaching the city in 2008 appears more viable
than ever and it is incumbent upon the international community to
implement a new strategic paradigm before time runs out."
Its 110-page report coincides with an equally severe warning from
Oxfam. In a report for the House of Commons International Development
Committee the humanitarian and aid agency warns that the security
situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating significantly with the
country's problems exacerbated by corruption in central and local
government.
Senior British and US military commanders privately agree despite
their public emphasis on short-term successes against Taliban
fighters.
The insurgency is divided into a largely poverty-driven "grassroots"
component and a concentrated group of "hard-core militant Islamists",
says the Senlis Council, which has an office in Kabul and field
researchers based in Helmand and Kandahar provinces in southern
Afghanistan.
It says that the Nato-led International Security Force of some 40,000
troops should be at least doubled and include forces from Muslim
countries as well as Nato states which have refused to send troops to
the country.
There is no sign of any move within Nato to send reinforcements to
Afghanistan.
While western governments, like the Senlis Council and Oxfam, are
increasingly concerned about the lack of effectiveness of President
Hamid Karzai's government, there is no agreement about how to solve
the problems.
Oxfam warns that urgent action is needed to avert humanitarian
disaster in Afghanistan where millions face "severe hardship
comparable with sub-Saharan Africa". Though the country has received
more than $15bn ( 7.5bn) in aid since 2001, the money is not getting
to projects which could lead to sustained improvements in people's
lives, says Oxfam.
It adds that at least 1,200 civilians have been killed so far this
year, half in operations by international or Afghan forces. It notes
there are four times as many air strikes by international forces in
Afghanistan than in Iraq.
The Senlis Council wants Nato forces, and their Provincial
Reconstruction Teams, to take on a bigger role distributing aid and
Oxfam says the military should stick to providing security. |
