Afghanistan

Background

Afghanistan emerged as the first target in the US's war on terrorism after it became clear that the Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network were responsible for the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. The country's Taliban regime was harbouring Bin Laden and allowing the use of Afghan territory for the training of Al-Qaeda operatives and other Islamic militants.

After the Taliban refused to handover Bin Laden, Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in October 2001 with US-led forces undertaking airstrikes and cruise missile attacks in an attempt to remove the Taliban from power and to destroy Al-Qaeda training camps. In November, coalition air forces, special forces and CIA advisors supported the largely ethnic Tajik United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (UIFSA) to overwhelm the Taliban, which were ousted from power in December 2001.

One of the most pressing issues following the fall of the Taliban was to make Kabul secure to ensure that a newly-formed Afghan government could function properly and so the UN would be able to help with reconstruction and the delivery of humanitarian aid. In December 2001, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1386 authorising the deployment of an 8,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) responsible for providing a secure environment in Kabul for Afghanistan’s new government led by Hamid Karzai. Initial contributions to ISAF came from some of the 17,000 troops from 17 nations that had deployed in the country by 2002.

ISAF: overview
NATO took over the command of ISAF on 9 August 2003, initially tasked with providing security for Kabul, but later deployed into other parts of the country as a result of UNSC Resolution 1510 (13 October 2003), allowing the government to attempt to govern lawless areas that had largely come under the control of Afghan warlords and to rebuild the country’s infrastructure after more than 26 years of war.

ISAF works alongside international organisations, particularly in reconstruction work and other Civil Military Co-operation (CIMIC) projects. It is involved in the training of the Afghan National Army (ANA), which will be composed of about 70,000 personnel by 2008, and a 82,000-strong police force. ISAF additionally assists the UN's Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme, which is aimed at demobilising and disarming Afghanistan’s militias and reintegrating its members into Afghan society as members of the ANA or in civilian employment.

The northern and western areas of Afghanistan have stabilised in recent years, while ISAF is struggling to make the south secure largely due to the activities of insurgents that are launching attacks from across Afghanistan's insecure border with Pakistan. The insurgency continues to be partly funded by Afghanistan’s opium production. The country's poppy crop remains an important source of income for about ten per cent of the population and is controlled by the country’s warlords. It accounts for about 40 per cent of Afghanistan’s GDP, while about 87 per cent of the world's opium production and 90 per cent of the heroin sold in Europe is derived from the country. Opium poppy is produced in rural parts of Afghanistan, mostly in the southern Helmand province, although it only accounts for 2.9 per cent of the country's total agricultural land area. It is not grown in only four of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, mostly in the north.

Stopping poppy cultivation is not a major role for ISAF, with eradication being left to the Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) and the Afghan Special Narcotics Force (ASNF) as part of the Afghan government's internationally-funded National Drug Control Strategy (NDCS). There have been attempts to encourage farmers to diversify into other agricultural areas, but these have largely been ineffective. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that opium cultivation has risen to 193,000ha in 2007 from 165,000 hectares (ha) in 2006. In the unstable Helmand province, the scene of the most ferocious fighting, opium cultivation had risen by 48 per cent to 102,770ha. Total opium production is expected be 8,200 tonnes in 2007, compared to 6,100 tonnes in 2006.

Estimated ISAF contributions

As of December 2007, there were approximately 41,741 troops from 38 nations (including 11
non-NATO states) contributing personnel to ISAF. The largest NATO contributors are the United States (15,038), the UK (7,753), Germany (3,155), Italy (2,358), Canada (1,730) and the Netherlands (1,512).

ISAF X (the tenth rotation of the Force deployed since February 2007) has its headquarters (HQ ISAF) at Kabul and is commanded (COMISAF) by the US Army’s General Dan McNeill. HQ ISAF comprises about 700 support personnel from 26 nations. A Senior Civilian Representative (currently the Netherlands’ Ambassador Daan Everts) represents the political leadership of NATO. The operation is run by NATO’s Joint Forces Command Brunssum (JFC Brunssum) in the Netherlands.

ISAF deployments

Close air support (CAS) and transport is provided by the Air Task Force (ATF). The fixed-wing combat contribution to the ATF comprises a detachment of six British Harrier GR7/9s, eight Royal Netherlands Air Force (KLu) F-16 Fighting Falcons, three French Mirage 2000Ds and three Mirage F1CRs at Kandahar. Germany has deployed six reconnaissance Tornado ECRs at Mazar-i-Sharif. Helicopters are based at Kandahar, Herat and Kabul. It has been reported that NATO is planning to charter up to 20 civilian-operated helicopters to meet a shortfall in rotary-wing airlift. The US has combat aircraft and helicopters based at Bagram and Kandahar in Afghanistan, Manas airport in Kyrgyzstan and Jacobabad airbase in Pakistan. It is not unusual for coalition aircraft to fly up to 65 sorties a day in support of international forces based in Afghanistan.

Main contributions

United States
The latest American Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) rotation is headed by elements of the 82nd Airborne Division. US forces are largely based in RC(E) with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team (BCT) heading Task Force (TF) Bayonet in the northern part of RC(E) and the 4th BCT, 82nd Airborne Division heading TF Fury in the southern part. About 8,000 US troops in
RC(E) are tasked with counter-insurgency operations, supported by 1,000 coalition troops (including special forces) as the Combined Joint Task Force-82 (CJTF-82) at Bagram. As of October 2007, CJTF-82 was commanded by Major-General David Rodriguez, who is normally the 82nd Airborne Division’s commander. The US additionally controls two PRTs in RC(W) (Farah) and RC(S) (Qalat).

US air support in Afghanistan is composed of TF Pegasus, comprising TF Corsair at FSB Kandahar led by the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), 82nd Airborne Division equipped with up to 35 CH-47 Chinook, UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters. The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing (455th AEW) at FSB Bagram is equipped with about 30 aircraft. Two Expeditionary Fighter Squadrons (354th, 455th EFS) undertake CAS with the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the F-15E Strike Eagle. The 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron (41st EECS) is equipped with the EC-130H Compass Call for Electronic Warfare/Electronic Countermeasures (EW/ECM) operations and the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron (774th EAS) is equipped with the C-130 Hercules for transport. The 451st Air Expeditionary Group (451st AEG) at Kandahar provides the 33rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron (33rd ERS) equipped with the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter and the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Flight (62nd ERF) equipped with the MQ-1 Predator UAV. The USAF confirmed in September 2007 that it had deployed the MQ-9 Reaper B UCAV in Afghanistan in its first operational deployment since entering service with the 42nd Attack Squadron (42nd AS) at Creech AFB earlier in this year. In addition, the US Army deployed in the same month its version of the Predator, the Sky Warrior-A Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), with the 82nd CAB at Bagram.

US and ISAF forces are additionally supported by aircraft deployed onboard the USS Enterprise in the Persian Gulf. Enterprise is equipped with aircraft and helicopters of the Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW 1), including up to 55 F/A-18C Hornet and F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter-bombers as well as four EA-6B Prowlers. The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group (CSG) deployed in the Persian Gulf in August 2007 specifically to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

United Kingdom
The British contribution to RC(S) -- known as TF Helmand -- is led by HQ 52 Infantry Brigade and personnel and equipment from the King's Royal Hussars, The Household Cavalry Regiment, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) and the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles. The UK additionally contributes six Harriers at Kandahar, while eight Apache AH1 attack helicopters, six Chinook HC2 heavy-lift helicopters, four Lynx AH7s and four Sea King HC4s are also based at Kandahar as part of the UK's Joint Helicopter Force (Afghanistan). The UK plans to deploy a further four further Harrier GR9s at Kandahar. In November 2007, the UK confirmed that it had deployed the first of three recently-acquired MQ-9 Reapers at Kandahar; the remaining models should arrive in theatre by early 2008. There are five C-130 Hercules transport to support TF Helmand at Seeb International Airport in Oman.

Germany
Germany has deployed special forces as well as personnel from the 31 Air Brigade and from a medical brigade. The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) has deployed six Tornado ECR reconnaissance aircraft at Mazar-i-Sharif.

Canada
Canada’s contribution in RC(S) is spearheaded by a battlegroup led by the 3rd Battalion, 22nd Royal Regiment. It includes an armoured unit, the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), infantry from the 5th Canadian Mechanised Brigade Group, a reconnaissance troop, an artillery battery and a UAV unit.

Italy
Italy's deployment is currently led by the 5th Alpine Regiment and includes three AB212 utility helicopters, five A-129 Mangusta attack helicopters and two MQ-1 Predator UAVs at KAIA.

The Netherlands
The Netherlands has a mechanised battlegroup deployed with TF Uruzgan in RC(S) drawn from the 11 Airmobile Brigade, 43 Mechanised Brigade and 1 Logistics Brigade. A single C-130 Hercules at Kandahar provides transport support to TF Uruzgan and the KLu's F-16 Fighting Falcons. Four KLu NAH-64D Longbow Apache attack helicopters are based at Tarin Kowt and three CH-47 Chinooks are at Kandahar.

Other contributions
NATO’s November 2006 Riga Summit saw the alliance call for more troops, combat aircraft and helicopters in an effort to combat the insurgency, but the request largely fell on deaf ears with only the US, the UK, Australia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia deploying extra troops. France, Germany and Spain have refused to provide more troops, redeploy them from their AoRs into the volatile RC(S) or provide further helicopters. France did, however, redeploy three Mirage 2000D and three Mirage F1CR fighter aircraft from Dushanbe airport in Tajikistan to Kandahar in September 2007 to provide CAS to ISAF forces in RC(S). The country currently has 1,073 troops in Afghanistan, including a 540-strong French Battalion located at RC(C) at Kabul led by personnel from the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade. The Battalion is supported by two EC725 Caracal and two AS532 Cougar helicopters at KAIA. There are two Armée de L’Air C-160 Transalls at Dushanbe and two C-135 Stratotankers at Manas airport in Kyrgyzstan.

Spain has 715 troops in Afghanistan drawn from the Paratrooper Brigade "Almogávares" VI, including a 400-strong Quick Reaction Force (QRF) at Herat. The country deployed three FAMET CH-47D Chinook HT-17 helicopters at Herat in September 2007. Germany currently contributes 3,155 troops to ISAF, but a grey area in the German constitution forbids the deployment of the countrys armed forces in combat missions abroad (although it does allow deployment in support of NATO or UN operations). The German government faced some significant public and political opposition to the deployment of Tornado ECR aircraft. As a compromise, Berlin has loaned Canada's ISAF contingent 20 Leopard 2A6M MBTs since mid-2007.

At NATO's 24-25 October meeting of defence ministers at Noordwijk in the Netherlands the alliance again requested further troop contributions. It was reported that about nine countries had offered a small number of additional troops, including Albania, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovakia. Georgia has expressed an interest in joining the ISAF mission and offered 200 troops that would deploy in RC(S). Italy had announced prior to the NATO meeting that it would send an additional 250 troops in December 2007 tasked with guarding HQ ISAF after it assumed command of RC(C). Belgium recently deployed 40 extra personnel in Kabul when it became responsible for command of KAIA, while the Netherlands has boosted it contribution by 80 troops. NATO's need for more troops has come at a tricky time when the Dutch government is facing growing domestic pressure to withdraw from Afghanistan. It has been reported that the Netherlands threatened to completely withdraw if there were no further troop commitments, but it has since confirmed that its troops will remain in theatre until 2010.

Part of the extra troop requirement is for training the ANA and Afghan police. NATO wants to fully train the ANA by 2010 so it can shoulder a larger amount of responsibility for Afghanistan's security, allowing a reduction in ISAF force levels. About 35,000 ANA troops have been trained so far, half of the total planned strength. ISAF currently has about 36 Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) composed of 10–19 personnel that are tasked with training, but is looking for a further 3,400 personnel. Some training personnel are embedded with the ANA (Embedded Training Teams -- ETTs) and there are about 14 ISAF nations currently contributing to the OMLTs/ETTs, including the US, the UK, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. France announced on 24 October that it plans to deploy 50 additional military personnel by the end of the year to assist ANA training in the Uruzgan Province in RC(S). Germany has offered another 200 troops, adding to the 100 it already provides for training the ANA.

The insurgency
The Taliban and Al-Qaeda fled to Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the lawlessness Baluchistan province near the Afghan border in 2001. It was initially believed that Bin Laden gained sanctuary with Pashtun tribes in NWFP’s South Waziristan region. Despite Pakistan undertaking a number of major military operations in the NWFP and the Baluchistan province, sometimes with support from US forces, Bin Laden has so far evaded capture, suggesting that he may have relocated to somewhere else in the region.

Major insurgent groups

The insurgents have often undertaken hit-and-run attacks against coalition forces crossing Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. Other tactics have included RPG attacks, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and suicide/car bombings -- Small pockets of Taliban fighters have occupied border towns and villages, laying in wait to ambush ISAF troops. In the volatile Helmand province in southern Afghanistan the Taliban has been particularly prominent in a 20-mile (32km) strip of fertile land known as the "Green Zone" located close to the Helmand River in the Sangin valley. Southern and eastern Afghanistan have seen the worst of the fighting, but there has been a growing number of battles in the western part of the country in recent months. In September 2007, ISAF and Afghan forces were engaged in firefights with the Taliban in the Farah province in RC(W) that reportedly involved a show of ISAF's military strength from American A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and Italian A-129 Mangusta attack helicopters. It has been suggested that the Taliban and other insurgents may now be trying to engage coalition forces elsewhere in the country after fleeing southern Afghanistan due to ISAF successes in the region. Alternatively, the Taliban could be trying to widen its ground activities throughout Afghanistan.

It has been estimated that there may be as many as 8,000 insurgents operating inside Afghanistan, but only about 1,000 are believed to be the more fundamentalist Taliban. There are about four militant groups currently active, including the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The Taliban has swelled its ranks by recruiting young unemployed Afghans and Arabs as well as students recruited in Pakistan's many Islamic schools (madrassas), where the Taliban originally developed as a movement during the 1990s. It is believed that the Taliban and other groups finance their activities with money derived from Afghanistan's lucrative poppy crop as well as donations from Islamic charities and individuals based in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The US and the UK have accused Iran of training the insurgents and supplying arms and explosives. The allegations came in September 2007 after ISAF had intercepted a convoy that had crossed Afghanistan's border with Iran carrying parts of highly-engineered armour-piercing IEDs.

Pakistan had about 80,000 troops deployed in the NWFP and Baluchistan, although this number has fallen significantly since Islamabad signed a peace deal with South Waziristan tribal leaders in September 2006. Analysts argue that ISAF would have to deploy at least 10,000-15,000 troops in the NWFP to prevent Taliban incursions into Afghanistan, but such a deployment might be viewed within Pakistan as an American invasion, which could lead to an internal attempt to remove Musharraf from power.

In September 2005, an ambitious plan was unveiled by Islamabad and backed by Washington to build a mined security fence along Afghanistan’s 1,500-mile (2,414km) border with Pakistan to prevent the insurgents entering the country. It has been reported that work has recently begun on a 22-mile (35km) stretch along the NWFP. Work on a second section stretching 150 miles (241km) is due to begin during 2007 along the border between Afghanistan and the Baluchistan province.

Last revision: December 2007