Manuel Valls a avancé ce jeudi le chiffre de 130 Français ou résidents en France engagés sur le terrain en Syrie. La plupart sont jeunes, radicalisés, avec un parcours délinquant, selon le ministre de l'Intérieur.
Un chiffre inquiétant pour Manuel Valls. "Plus de 130 Français ou résidents en France", souvent radicalisés, combattent actuellement en Syrie, a affirmé jeudi le ministre de l'Intérieur sur France Inter. "Une cinquantaine sont revenus, une quarantaine sont en zone de transit et une bonne centaine ont déjà, selon nos services de renseignements, montré qu'ils pouvaient se rendre là-bas", a-t-il précisé.
"C'est un phénomène qui m'inquiète, parce qu'ils représentent, avec leur retour sur notre sol, un danger potentiel", a insisté le ministre socialiste. Selon lui, il s'agit "d'individus jeunes", "ayant connu souvent déjà un parcours délinquant", "radicalisés le plus souvent".
Selon le ministre, "c'est un phénomène sans commune mesure avec le nombre de Français qui avaient pu se rendre par exemple en Afghanistan ou au Pakistan. Il faut être extrêmement attentif".
British soldiers are bringing the Sandhurst ethos to the Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul. Report by Ian Carr.
Summer in Kabul. A gunmetal grey sky threatens yet more rain, perhaps even another sudden hailstorm like the one that pounded the city yesterday. Although it is August, there are still patches of snow along the mountain range that forms the rim of the bowl in which Kabul sits. It is a dramatic landscape.
A meaningful place
We have come to Qargha, roughly 14km to the west of the city and 1,900 metres above sea level, to visit the Afghan National Army’s Officer Academy. As we drive up the track inside the 17.2-kilometre-long perimeter fence to a place where we can look down on the new build, we pass the wreckage of previous conflicts. Tangled Soviet tanks rust in heaps as testament to decades of fighting. Here, many great Afghan leaders have planned and fought foreign foes. With this military provenance, it seems right to build the academy here.
Qargha has tremendous historical significance for the Afghans,” said Lieutenant Colonel Grahame Hyland, the 1st Kandak Commander’s mentor.
There has always been an Afghan Army based here since before the Soviet invasion of 1979. It is a very meaningful place.
A Sandhurst General
General Sher Mohammad Karimi, the head of the Afghan National Army (library image) [Picture: Richard Watt, Crown copyright]
When the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan committed to building an academy to produce ethical and professional young warrior leaders, General Karimi, the Afghan Chief of the General Staff, became the driving force behind the project.
Being himself a product of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the General needed no convincing that the famous British institution was the model they needed to follow to identify and develop their own talented young officers.
He likes the way the Brits go about their business,” said Colonel Hyland.
He appreciates the importance of the constant theme of leadership running throughout the 42-week course. He likes the way we use senior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and warrant officers to instruct our young officers. He sees the benefit of that and how it will help them to become a more professional army to face the challenges of the future.
For more than a year the UK has led the NATO Training Mission to support the Afghan National Army to develop their academy. From establishing how they will identify and select potential officers for the course, to what the syllabus content will be and how the training will be delivered.
Afghan junior and senior officers and politicians have paid many visits to the UK to see for themselves why we have become internationally recognised in the field of army officer training.
Cultural relevance
Life in Kabul during a vehicle patrol back to Camp Souter from Qharga [Picture: Corporal Jamie Peters, Crown copyright]
Of course it is nice to be admired, but the purpose of these trips was to help the Afghans to develop their own kind of academy. To produce the quality junior leaders they needed in a way that would make sense to them using methods and examples that would be Afghan-led. Colonel Hyland offered an illustration of what this means:
For example, when the students are looking at defensive battles in the war studies part of the course, they will be learning about the Afghans’ defence of Herat. When it comes to studying the elements of attacking battles they could look at the Battle of Maiwand and identify what tactics their predecessors employed that helped them to annihilate us.
This, explains Colonel Hyland, is how Dr Duncan Anderson, a war studies expert from Sandhurst, is mentoring his own Afghan counterpart to teach the young officers. He continues:
Instead of looking at Wellington’s leadership qualities – what relevance has he to an Afghan cadet? They could look at Shah Massoud’s leadership credentials: How did he manage to hold the Panjshir Valley against the Russians? What better example can there be to set for junior officers?
Along the way, British troops have been mentoring their Afghan counterparts, advising them on manpower, selecting the best candidates, building up kit, developing the course and mastering the coaching and mentoring skills that they will need to teach it, and how they will assess the students.
On a personal level mentoring is a tricky thing to explain,” said Colonel Hyland. “It is unique to the person you are mentoring and to the mentors themselves.
For me it’s about making sure that the kandak commander understands the ramifications of every decision he makes. It’s about helping him to see the broader picture, not just the minutiae of delivering the first kandak through the academy but also how it is going to affect the Afghan Army in future. But it is also about humility and understanding that, just because you do something in a certain way, it isn’t necessarily the only way it can be done.
Choosing the best
Captain Aaron Florence talks with Ian Carr [Picture: Corporal Jamie Peters, Crown copyright]
Another academy mentor is Captain Aaron Florence. His tour has been all about bedding in the Afghan Army’s officer selection process to recruit the best intake of students for the academy. He said:
We trained the selectors up to the first board, which was on 22 June. Altogether there will be 22 selection boards, each of which is 3 days long. We will select 272 from 998 candidates.
It’s a revolutionary concept for the Afghans, but it is one that they have embraced. So how does this crucial stage work?
Candidates who want to become an officer go to an Afghan equivalent of a recruiting office, where they are sifted, checked against criminal records and biometrically tested. Those who pass through this filter are then sent to the academy to undergo the selection boards.
We put them through a number of tests,” said Captain Florence. “They have to complete an obstacle course, and a physical fitness test – press-ups, a mile-and-a-half run, sit-ups, as many as they can do in 2 minutes.
They also have to face a general knowledge test – answering questions such as, who was the first Afghan in space? Which countries border Afghanistan? And they are quizzed on simple current affairs. Other tests include a board interview, writing a short essay and delivering a short talk on something of their choosing – usually something about their village or their province. But because the point is to produce seed corn second lieutenants, a weighting is put on the importance of passing the physical.
Captain Florence said:
This academy is about producing young leaders. It’s no use if they are not physically capable of leading men into battle.
Performance over posh shirts
When the candidates arrive they are given a name and a number. For the next 48 hours this will be their identity. This is done to make as sure as possible that when the selectors make their judgements they are based on merit rather than on the possibility that it is a general’s son or daughter that is standing in front of them. A smart appearance is not one of the criteria that will necessarily sway the board. Performance rather than a posh shirt is what matters.
We do give advice on what sort of clothing candidates should bring, such as don’t forget your trainers for example,” said Captain Florence, “things that we might take for granted, but in fact some candidates just might not have things like that. We’ve had some guys that have come along with just the clothes they stand up in, and then they’ve done the physical test and smashed it. One guy, Red 3, I’ll always remember him, only had flip flops, so he ran his physical fitness test barefoot – and he came first.
Since the selections began, Captain Florence has been increasingly able to lift his hand off the tiller. At first he used to be there all the time, now he need only be there at the beginning of the day to make sure everything is running smoothly.
Training the trainers
Working with those who will be responsible for instilling the basic soldiering skills that a young officer needs to master has been Warrant Officer Peter Witkawski of 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Warrant Officer Peter Witkawski talks with Ian Carr [Picture: Corporal Jamie Peters, Crown copyright]
As well as helping his opposite numbers work out how they are going to get the drills and skills inside the heads of their students, Warrant Officer Witkawski has had the tough job of developing the instructors’ skills. It is a challenge that has taken the British Army generations to perfect. No where else in the world will you find an NCO who can bark at a young officer and deliver the epithet “Sir” like a cosh to the back of the head. Warrant Officer Witkawski sees it as no joke:
It’s a very embryonic stage for them. Their NCO-equivalents are not held in the same regard as in our structure.
If I say something I tend to be listened to; our structures in the British Army are set up that way. There is an emphasis on the NCO providing the officer cadet with instruction. The Afghan officer corps has to learn to hand over that responsibility. It’s a big ask.
When at full strength, each intake will have 350 students. But, for the first 2, there will be just 270 to allow room to develop the course and manage any initial teething troubles. By September next year each intake will also have a cadre of 90 females. As the date for the first course nears the team are hoping for good weather.
We were lucky this winter, it was quite mild. But we can get snow here from November through to March. Inevitably that would have an impact on the training,” said Colonel Hyland. “But we’ll cope, they’ll still be able to train because they will be issued the kit they need.
Good news indeed for candidate Red 3.
This report by Ian Carr is published in the September 2013 issue of Defence Focus - the magazine for everyone in Defence.
ISLAMABAD — Two senior Pakistani army officers were among those killed in a weekend IED attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) in the restive area along the Afghan border. The attack comes as peace talks with the TTP are being pushed by the government.
Maj. Gen. Sanaullah Khan, Lt. Col. Tauseef Ahmed and Lance Naik Irfan Sattar were killed Sept. 15 when an IED targeted their convoy in the Upper Dir district near the Afghan border.
Khan was commander of 17 Division, operating in Swat, formerly a stronghold of the TTP before they were ejected by the army in 2009. The general was returning from visiting troops in the region.
Earlier IED attacks the same day on posts along Miranshah Road near Mir Ali in North Waziristan, a terrorist stronghold, killed a soldier and a member of the paramilitary Frontier Corps. An attack on members of the Khassadar — the government-allied tribal militia — in the early hours of the morning killed one and injured four.
The attack that killed Khan comes after the Sept. 9 All Parties Conference (APC) hosted by the government to establish political a consensus to tackle terrorism in the country. It unanimously adopted a resolution for unconditional talks with all terrorists, including the TTP.
Claude Rakisits, an associate professor in strategic studies at Deakin University in Australia, is one of several Pakistan analysts who are skeptical about talks with the TTP.
Killing Khan “only days after the APC resolution gives a clear indication that negotiating with the TTP is bound to be a recipe for disaster,” he said.
The deaths of two high-ranking officers “will be taken very badly by the Pakistani army,” he said.
He foresees “increasing pressure on the government to demand pre-conditions before starting formal talks, including an end to TTP violence. ... Anything less than that would mean that the military would be negotiating from a position of weakness.”
During the past 10 years there have been nine agreements with militants, but none lasted more than several months, noted Salma Malik, an assistant professor in the Department of Defence & Strategic Studies at Islamabad's Quaid-i-Azam University.
“Each time the government has faced embarrassment and lost more maneuvering space against the [non-state actors],” she said. “Ironically the accords have always been breached and unceremoniously dumped by the [non-state actors] than the government, further weakening latter’s case.”
The possibility of talks aside, the attack again raised the question of Pakistan's response to IEDs.
The deaths of two senior officers are unlikely to spark a change in thinking on better-protected vehicles, said Brian Cloughley, a former Australian defense attaché to Islamabad.
“This won't mean a change of direction to acquire these vastly expensive protected vehicles,” he said “Even if the army got them for nothing from the US ... the operating costs are horrendous and simply could not be afforded by Pakistan.”
Pakistan's own indigenous Burraq mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle has still not been officially unveiled despite claims earlier this year by officials from state-owned manufacturer Heavy Industries Taxila that it would be soon.
And despite an order for an undisclosed number of Type CS/VP3 MRAPs from China’s Poly Group Corp. in November, none have been seen in Pakistan so far.
Analyst Usman Shabbir of the Pakistan Military Consortium think tank said it is unclear why the military is seemingly dragging its feet on the acquistion of a suitable MRAP, but said the reason could be purely financial.
L' "appui aux activités de redéploiement" (en direction de la Belgique) a débuté le 9 septembre à Kunduz pour la trentaine de militaires belges encore présents dans ce camp - dont des policiers militaires (MP) et des spécialistes en "opérations psychologiques" -, a indiqué le ministère de la Défense sur son site internet.
L'armée belge se prépare à quitter, en toute discrétion et après près de dix ans de présence qui a culminé à une bonne centaine de personnes, le camp militaire de Kunduz (nord de l'Afghanistan), que la Bundeswehr prévoit de fermer "à l'automne" dans le cadre du retrait progressif de ses troupes d'ici fin 2014, a-t-on appris lundi de sources concordantes. L'"appui aux activités de redéploiement" (en direction de la Belgique) a débuté le 9 septembre à Kunduz pour la trentaine de militaires belges encore présents dans ce camp - dont des policiers militaires (MP) et des spécialistes en "opérations psychologiques" -, a indiqué le ministère de la Défense sur son site internet.
"Sécurité opérationnelle" oblige, aucune date n'a encore été évoquée officiellement pour le départ des derniers Belges de Kunduz, qui n'abrite plus que quelque 300 soldats allemands, selon la presse d'Outre-Rhin.
Mais il se murmure à la Défense que le gros du contingent belge devrait avoir quitté Kunduz d'ici début octobre, ne laissant sur place que des logisticiens chargés de démanteler les installations et de rapatrier le reste du matériel via Mazar-i-Sharif, la grande ville du nord afghan.
L'armée belge s'était installée en mars 2004 dans le camp de l'Equipe provinciale de Reconstruction ("Provincial Reconstruction Team") dirigée par l'Allemagne à Kunduz, au départ avec une demi-douzaine de militaires seulement, à l'instigation du ministre de la Défense de l'époque, André Flahaut (PS).
Mais cette présence dans le cadre de la force internationale d'assistance à la sécurité (Isaf, dirigée par l'Otan) avait cru au fil des ans, sous la protection des troupes allemandes. Elle avait atteint un maximum d'environ 125 personnes entre le printemps 2009 et avril dernier, lorsque deux équipes d'instructeurs belges (des OMLT, devenues des MAT) encadraient des unités de l'armée nationale afghane (ANA), une implication accrue voulue par l'actuel titulaire du portefeuille de la Défense, Pieter De Crem (CD&V).
Les autres pays européens quittent aussi la zone militaire
La première de ces équipes, forte d'une cinquantaine de personnes, est rentrée au pays le 5 mai dernier après avoir assuré depuis janvier 2009 - mais avec des relèves de personnel tous les six mois - la formation d'un "kandak" (bataillon afghan), à Kaboul d'abord, à Kunduz ensuite.
La seconde équipe d'instructeurs - un "Military Advisory Team" (MAT), en jargon militaire -, qui compte une dizaine de militaires chargés de conseiller l'état-major d'une brigade de l'armée afghane, est toujours sur place. Mais son retour est présenté comme proche, alors que l'Otan a décidé de concentrer à partir de l'an prochain ses efforts de formation et d'encadrement sur les niveaux plus élevés, dont celui du corps d'armée, dont celui établi à Mazar-i-Sharif.
Quant aux quelque 25 membres de l'ex-PRT de Kunduz, devenu récemment PATF ("Partnering Advising Task Force") pour refléter le "partenariat" qui s'est établi entre les forces afghanes et celles de l'Otan, ils devraient aussi rentrer au pays dans les semaines à venir.
Il s'agit d'un groupe travaillant à l'aéroport de Kunduz et chargé du chargement et du déchargement du fret ("aircraft handling"), de spécialistes en renseignement opérationnel, d'une équipe Psy-Ops ("opérations psychologiques"), des spécialistes en informatique, des MP et des contrôleurs aériens avancés ("Forward Air Controllers", FAC) sont également intégrés dans ce PATF.
Les Pays-Bas ont terminé le 28 août - et de manière quelque peu prématurée - le retrait de la plupart des 540 personnes affectées durant deux ans à une mission de formation de la police afghane à Kunduz. L'Allemagne a en effet annoncé un retrait accéléré de ses troupes, qui y assurent aussi la protection des continents étrangers.
Washington - Pentagon officials are holding talks in Afghanistan on the withdrawal of US military equipment from the country, officials said Friday, as Washington hopes to lower the cost of the massive operation.
American forces are having to fly out large amounts of gear at great expense but defense officials would like to move more vehicles and equipment over cheaper land routes through Pakistan, officials said.
With the US military's drawdown underway and set to finish by the end of 2014, about 20 percent of the cargo is currently being withdrawn through the overland route across the Pakistan border.
But officials say they would prefer to have 60 percent of all materiel move over land instead of by air.
Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other senior officials arrived in Kabul earlier Friday and the equipment withdrawal, or "retrograde," will feature prominently in their discussions, officials said.
Carter will seek to "assess the continued progress on retrograde efforts," a defense official said.
The Afghan government shut the border earlier this year in a dispute over what the US military should pay for withdrawing its gear, with Kabul insisting the Americans owed up to $70 million in customs fines.
Washington has maintained the military equipment came into the country legally and refused to pay the fees. Afghan authorities eventually reopened the border.
Asked about the dispute, a senior Pentagon official told reporters: "We think we've resolved that."
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Pentagon was pleased with the pace of movement on the Pakistan route since April and hoped that the share of cargo moving on the supply line would expand soon from 20 to 30 percent.
Unlike the American departure from Iraq, the withdrawal of US military equipment from Afghanistan represents a daunting logistical problem in a landlocked nation with unreliable roads and mountainous terrain.
By 2015, the United States must remove about 24,000 vehicles and the equivalent of roughly 20,000 shipping containers.
Other equipment deemed not to be worth taking out is being donated to the Afghan government, passed on to NATO allies willing to cover the transport costs, or destroyed.
The cost of the effort is estimated to range from $5 billion to $7 billion, but how much of the gear is ferried out by land will affect the final price tag, officials said.
Since April, about half of all cargo has been taken out by aircraft to ports in the Middle East, and then shipped back to the United States. And roughly 28 percent of the equipment is flown all the way from Afghanistan to the United States.
Weapons and other sensitive items have to be ferried by air, but the percentage moving over land could increase if "administrative" procedures were cleared up on the Afghan side of the border, officials said.
The United States has 55,000 troops in Afghanistan and plans to withdraw the bulk of combat forces by the end of 2014. US officials are negotiating an agreement with Kabul to keep a smaller force in place beyond 2014
La Bulgarie pourrait déployer entre 80 et 120 soldats en Afghanistan après 2014, a déclaré jeudi le ministre de la Défense du pays Angel Naydenov.
"Le ministère a analysé les possibilités de participation de la Bulgarie à l'opération de l'OTAN en Afghanistan après 2014, et actuellement nous avons trois options, avec des contingents variant de 80 à 120", a déclaré M. Naydenov lors d'une conférence internationale consacrée à l'Afghanistan post-FIAS (Force internationale d'assistance et de sécurité).
Sur la base de l'évaluation militaire, la Bulgarie choisirait une option après une coordination plus profonde avec l'OTAN, a déclaré le ministre. La Bulgarie coordonnerait également son futur engagement en Afghanistan avec les initiatives d'autres organisations internationales, a-t-il ajouté.
La Bulgarie participe à la mission de la FIAS dirigée par l'OTAN depuis 2002.
En janvier, le pays balkanique a décidé de retirer environ 40% de son contingent composé de 600 membres posté en Afghanistan pendant le premier semestre de 2013. Seules les équipes de conseillers resteront en Afghanistan après 2015.
A US airman scans terrain for possible threats over Logar Province, Afghanistan, in July. US Air Force statistics show a dramatic decrease in weapons drops in August compared to the same period in previous years. (US Air Force)
WASHINGTON — US aircraft in Afghanistan fired their weapons 158 times in August, the lowest monthly total in more than a year.
The numbers were released Wednesday as part of the monthly Combined Forces Air Component Commander Airpower statistics put out by US Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT). Among the statistics included in the report are how many sorties were flown, how many sorties saw at least one weapon release and overall number of weapon releases.
Overall, 1,051 of the 15,239 sorties flown in Afghanistan this year saw at least one weapons release.
August now becomes only the fourth month since the start of 2009 to require fewer than 160 weapons releases in Afghanistan, joining January 2010 (156), February 2010 (154) and February 2012 (116). The drop is also notable for occurring in August; data show a pattern of heaviest action from June through October.
In comparison, AFCENT reported 588 weapons releases in August 2012 and 516 during the same period in 2011.
Le ministre russe de l'Intérieur Vladimir Kolokoltsev a invité mardi ses homologues des pays membres de la Communauté des Etats indépendants à mettre en place une zone de sécurité antidrogue le long des frontières afghanes.
"J'ai proposé de créer une ceinture antidrogue autour de l'Afghanistan. Ma proposition est dictée par le fait que la principale menace de prolifération des stupéfiants émane de ce pays", a déclaré M. Kolokoltsev à l'issue d'une réunion des ministres de l'Intérieur de la CEI.
Selon M. Kolokoltsev, les policiers russes doivent prendre conjointement avec leurs collègues "toutes les mesures possibles prévues par le droit international".
Premier producteur mondial d'héroïne, l'Afghanistan a fourni en 2011 plus de 80% des substances opiacées fabriquées dans le monde. Selon le Service fédéral russe de contrôle des stupéfiants (FSKN), l'Afghanistan produit près de 150 milliards de doses d'héroïne et environ 30 milliards de doses de haschisch par an. Cette drogue arrive en Russie via le Tadjikistan et le Pakistan.
Le directeur du FSKN, Viktor Ivanov, a déclaré en avril dernier que jusqu'à 20.000 mercenaires opérant en Syrie étaient financés avec l'argent provenant du trafic de drogue afghane.
The delivery of nearly 100 vehicles to the UK from Afghanistan today brings the total number redeployed from theatre to more than 1,000.
94 vehicles were unloaded earlier today, Monday 9 September, at Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre near Southampton after transit from a port in the Middle East.
The protected patrol vehicles on board the ‘roll-on, roll-off’ ferry included 18 Mastiffs, each weighing more than 26 tonnes, and more than 30 Jackal vehicles.
British armoured vehicles are either being flown from Camp Bastion in Helmand province or in some cases moved overland through Pakistan to a sea port, before being loaded onto a ferry.
The ferry then spends over 4 weeks at sea navigating through the Gulf of Oman, along the coast of Yemen, across the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal, before sailing through the Mediterranean, past Gibraltar, and finally turning for UK shores.
Vehicles being returned to the UK from Afghanistan arriving at Marchwood [Picture: Shane Wilkinson, Crown copyright]
So far more than 1,080 vehicles and pieces of major equipment have been redeployed to the UK from Afghanistan, alongside 1,570 containers of materiel.
Under current plans, around 3,345 vehicles or items of equipment and around 5,500 containers of materiel will be returned by the conclusion of the British combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014.
The vehicles returned to the UK today will next travel to the Herrick exchange point facility at Warminster where mechanics will work to bring them up to standard ready to issue to units for future use.
Unloading vehicles being returned to the UK from Afghanistan at Marchwood [Picture: Shane Wilkinson, Crown copyright]
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said:
Having deployed thousands of vehicles and pieces of equipment to Afghanistan over the last 12 years we are making good progress in bringing them home as we near the end of combat operations in December 2014. A huge amount of work goes into returning our equipment and vehicles from Helmand, so I’m pleased with the progress we have made so far.
The redeployment of equipment from Afghanistan is a major logistical challenge, but I am confident military planners are up to the task and we are on schedule to bring home the vast array of equipment we have deployed there. Our troops will be resourced properly to the end of operations, and the drawdown of equipment will not compromise our mission in Afghanistan.
We can only achieve this redeployment because of the successful transition of security control from British forces to Afghan forces, which are increasingly capable and professional. These forces have stepped up in the fight against the insurgency throughout this summer and now lead on security throughout the country.
Mastiff and Wolfhound armoured vehicles waiting to be unloaded at Marchwood [Picture: Corporal Lu Scott, Crown copyright]
The Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre is the sole ‘Army’ port in the UK and was built up in 1943 to ferry equipment and personnel to the Normandy beaches the following year during the Second World War.
The 289-acre site, which incorporates 3 main jetties, is operated by 17 Port and Maritime Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, who load and discharge Service and civilian shipping in support of military administration, exercises and operations.
Royal Air Force Reaper UAV weapons launches over Afghanistan have increased sevenfold since 2008, according to newly-published data
Published in early September 2013, the data confirms that, last year, the RAF's Reaper fleet was involved in 892 flights over Afghanistan. During 92 of these sorties, missiles were fired, meaning such events occurred during over 10 per cent of the flights total.
In contrast, a total of 296 RAF Reaper MALE (medium altitude long endurance) UAV missions were staged during 2008, of which circa five per cent involved weapons being fired.
Deployed against suspected militant forces located in Afghanistan, the RAF's Reapers can be equipped with AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles: a capability first revealed in June 2008. Under the United States' control, UAVs operating in Afghan skies have proved highly controversial. While having successfully engaged with intended targets, the same unmanned platforms have reportedly also killed dozens of innocent civilians.
RAF Reaper Weapons Launches
According to officials, five different UK Armed Forces UAVs are presently deployed in Afghanistan. Of these, the RAF's Reapers are the only UAVs able to carry and launch weapons.
The type, said one RAF representative, has: "played a vital role supporting military operations [and]...saved countless UK and allied forces lives by providing essential intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and precision weapons in support of coalition forces on group operations."
Previously known as the Predator B, the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper made its first flight in February 2001 and entered service on 1 May 2007. To date, 57 examples have been produced, each one costing in the region of $16.9 million.
RAF Reaper UAVs
Reaper MALE UAVs currently equip three nations - Italy, the US and the UK. The Royal Air Force's Reapers UAVs serve two squadrons: No. 39 Squadron and No. 13 Squadron.
Powered by a single Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop engine generating 900 horsepower, the Reaper has a top speed of 300 miles per hour, a range of 1,150 miles and an endurance of 14 hours in its heaviest configuration. Reapers can fly at up to 50,000 feet but typically operate at around 25,000 feet and, equipped with seven weapons hardpoints, they can carry up to AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles.
Les Forces armées canadiennes commenceront à retirer une partie des troupes en Afghanistan à partir du mois d’octobre!
Dès le mois prochain, une première phase de retrait de troupes en Afghanistan débutera pour laisser environ 650 militaires sur place, a indiqué le major-général Dean Milner, commandant des troupes canadiennes en Afghanistan et commandant adjoint de la mission de formation de l’OTAN.
Elle sera suivie d’une deuxième phase juste avant les fêtes de Noël, qui laissera près de 375 militaires encore sur place. Puis une troisième phase aura lieu en janvier 2014, qui réduira l’effectif à une centaine de militaires et sera suivie d’une quatrième et dernière phase qui consistera à fermer la mission et rapatrier les 100 derniers soldats de l’Opération Attention avant le 31 mars 2014.
Au cours d’un entretien téléphonique, le major-général nous a dit être confiant que l’armée afghane pourra reprendre la suite des troupes de la coalition, même si son supérieur direct en Afghanistan, le général américain Joseph Dunford, a récemment indiqué que les forces afghanes auraient besoin d’au moins cinq autres années de soutien, alors qu’elles subissent en ce moment des pertes «insoutenables».
Selon le major-général Milner, un entraînement plus poussé des militaires afghans sur la détection et la neutralisation des engins explosifs improvisés a été mis en place afin de tenter de réduire les menaces contre les troupes afghanes.
LONDON — The NATO commander in Afghanistan has warned that the current casualty rates suffered by the Afghan army and police force are “unsustainable” in an interview published in Tuesday’s Guardian.
US Gen. Joseph Dunford told the paper that Afghan security forces may need five more years of western support before being able to take over full responsibility.
“I view it as serious, and so do all the commanders,” Dunford said of the toll, which has often hit 100 per week.
“I’m not assuming that those casualties are sustainable.”
The general said “time is going to tell” whether NATO had been right to switch in June from playing a combat role to a “train, advise, assist” operation.
“I don’t think you can tell that today,” he added.
US President Barack Obama has promised that Afghans will take full responsibility for their security by the end of 2014, although some NATO troops will remain to provide training.
Dunford claimed that some of these soldiers may be required until 2018.
“I look at Afghan security forces development as really kind of three to five years,” he explained. “I’m just talking about before they get to the standard where they may not need assistance and support any more.”
He also suggested that in fulfilling its “assist” role, NATO may be required to provide combat support.
In the latest wave of violence, Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen dressed as Afghan police attacked a US base near the Pakistani border on Monday and set dozens of parked NATO supply vehicles ablaze.
All three attackers were shot dead by helicopter gunships during the assault on the base in Nangarhar province, but no member of the US-led NATO mission was killed.
Afghanistan’s 350,000-strong security forces are suffering a steep rise in attacks as the NATO mission winds down, with police and army casualties said to have increased by 15-20 percent since 2011.
JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN — Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen dressed as Afghan police attacked a US base near the Pakistani border on Monday and set dozens of parked NATO supply vehicles ablaze, officials said.
All three attackers were shot dead by helicopter gunships during the assault on the base in Nangarhar province, but no member of the US-led NATO mission was killed.
“Our investigation shows some 41 vehicles — supply trucks and vehicles belonging to US forces — were destroyed in the attack,” Nangarhar provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said after the attack near the Torkham border crossing.
“Magnetic bombs were attached to some vehicles and detonated,” he told a press conference.
“Three armed insurgents were killed by US helicopter gunships. Weapons, suicide vests and hand grenades were found afterwards.”
A senior Afghan border police official also told AFP that 30 to 50 vehicles had been burnt.
Torkham is next to Pakistan’s Khyber Pass and straddles a key NATO overland supply route into landlocked Afghanistan from the nearest sea port of Karachi.
“There were a series of explosions that occurred in the vicinity of a forward operating base in Nangarhar province,” said a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
The military later described it as an “attempted but unsuccessful coordinated attack by enemy forces”.
“There were three enemy forces killed during the attack. We can confirm that no ISAF personnel were killed as a result of this incident,” it said in a statement.
An AFP photographer saw the bodies of three dead attackers wearing Afghan police uniforms.
NATO combat troops are gradually withdrawing from Afghanistan and are due to finish their mission by the end of 2014, after presidential elections next April.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban which is leading a 12-year insurgency against Western troops and the Afghan government, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to the media.
The Taliban have launched a spate of attacks across the country in recent days, with scores killed in suicide bombings, ambushes and rocket attacks. They also killed five aid workers in the west.
On Sunday the bullet-riddled bodies of seven civilians kidnapped one week earlier by the Taliban were found in Ghazni province just south of the capital.
Also on Sunday, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan and potential candidate for next year’s presidential election, Omar Daudzai, was appointed acting interior minister.
President Hamid Karzai, who has led Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion removed the Taliban from power, is barred from standing for a third term.
Interior minister Mujtaba Patang was voted out by parliament in July over accusations that he had failed to thwart the threat from Taliban rebels.
Afghanistan’s 350,000-strong security forces are suffering a steep rise in attacks as the NATO mission winds down, with police and army casualties said to have increased by 15-20 percent since 2011.
The election to succeed Karzai is seen as the key test of whether 12 years of massive international military and aid intervention has been worthwhile.
Karzai recently named controversial former warlord Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, 2009 runner-up Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani as possible candidates.
Other potential runners include foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul, Qayum Karzai, the president’s brother, and former interior minister Ali Ahmad Jalali.
Karzai has pledged to ensure a smooth election, but international donors have expressed concern about whether the vote will produce a credible result after the 2009 poll was marred by massive fraud.
U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Marcus S. McCollum, a fightline staff noncommissioned officer in charge and crew chief with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462 (HMH-462), provides aerial security with a GAU-21 .50 caliber machine gun inside a CH-53E Super Stallion over Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2013. HMH-462 provided aerial support for Marines with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines and Afghan National Security Forces during an interdiction operation. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Gabriela Garcia)
JALALABAD (Afghanistan / Nangarhar) - Un groupe d'insurgés talibans a lancé lundi matin une attaque contre une base américaine située dans l'est de l'Afghanistan, près de la frontière pakistanaise, ont indiqué des responsables.
Un groupe de kamikazes a attaqué une base américaine à Torkham, a déclaré à l'AFP le porte-parole de la province locale du Nangarhar, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, ajoutant que des affrontements étaient toujours en cours.
L'attaque a été revendiquée dans un communiqué par un porte-parole des talibans afghans, Zabihullah Mujahid.
Il y a eu plusieurs explosions près d'une base opérationnelle étrangère dans la province de Nangarhar, a indiqué à l'AFP le service de presse de la Force internationale de l'Otan en Afghanistan (Isaf), sans confirmer que l'attaque était toujours en cours.
Aucun membre de l'Isaf n'a été tué à la suite de l'incident et nous procédons actuellement à une estimation de la situation, a ajouté la coalition.
7th Armoured Brigade personnel have displayed their skills on Salisbury Plain prior to deploying to Afghanistan later this year.
It is nearly time for the ‘Desert Rats’, as members of 7th Armoured Brigade are known, to return to the desert. Although, this time, the desert that the famous brigade will be heading to is in Helmand province, where they will be taking over the role of Task Force Helmand (TFH).
The deployment on Operation Herrick 19 will see personnel from all 3 Services working closely with 3/215 Brigade of the Afghan National Army. And, as is the norm, the media were invited to Salisbury Plain to see some of the skills that the Rats have honed over an extensive period of pre-deployment training.
Media days tend to illustrate the main role that the troops will be playing during their tour. Not long ago the event would have had a dramatic pyrotechnic theme as troops displayed their patrolling and soldiering skills; helicopters would worry their way into contested areas to pick up the wounded.
The media day for Herrick 18 on a snow-swept Salisbury Plain focused on troops working with the Afghan Army and Police, advising and mentoring them and helping them to develop their skills.
Corporal Ed Grace, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, demonstrates the Dragon Runner bomb disposal robot [Picture: Richard Watt, Crown copyright]
Yesterday, 29 August, the main event was the drawdown of a forward patrol base, which will be an important feature of Herrick 19. Brigade Commander, Brigadier James Woodham, said:
In preparation for the tour I visit Afghanistan often to talk to those doing the job there at the moment, and it is clear to me that there has been great progress.
The Afghan Army in Helmand are without doubt showing themselves to be brave, competent and able to plan and conduct their own complex operations, the vast majority of which are conducted with no support from ISAF.
The police have clearly benefited from the concerted training effort over the years.
The success that has been seen in transferring responsibility for security to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the development of public trust in their government has meant that the current Task Force has been able to press ahead with disengagement and to close those bases for which there is no longer any operational need:
I fully expect that this process will continue,” said the Brigadier. “As a result the force that I deploy with will be smaller. As I take over, the full force numbers will be about 6,000, falling to 5,200 by the end of the year.
Brigadier James Woodham, Commander of 7th Armoured Brigade [Picture: Richard Watt, Crown copyright]
Brigadier Woodham said that he expected Herrick 19 would see the ANSF continuing to develop and that TFH would work with them only when required, with the focus being on increasing their independence and sustainability:
I fully expect in my time to conclude the process of closing and transferring the UK’s bases in Helmand. And as this process takes place we will be able to redeploy more of our people and equipment back to the UK and to Germany.
Which is why the showpiece of the day was the breaking down of a patrol base. Of course, in itself this is nothing new. British troops have been breaking down bases for generations.
But, whereas in years gone by the field guns and equipment would have been moved out on horseback, yesterday it was an upgraded RAF Chinook Mk4 helicopter, dubbed the workhorse of the skies, that took the strain of lifting a 105mm light gun, while a demountable rack offload and pickup system (a big army lorry) hauled away the more standard items.
An Apache attack helicopter provided air cover while an outer ring of Ridgback armoured vehicles and an inner platoon of soldiers held the ground secure as sappers dismantled a watchtower.
An Apache attack helicopter providing air cover during the media day on Salisbury Plain [Picture: Richard Watt, Crown copyright]
It was an important reminder that, while this tour for UK troops will be less kinetic and more advisory than in the past, basic soldiering skills must nevertheless be maintained to the highest level:
What you will see today is our chance to polish our skills, before using them for real in Helmand,” said Brigadier Woodham. “I’m pleased to say that the training progression has gone from strength to strength, and the training my soldiers have received has been first class, hugely realistic and challenging.
The training for Afghanistan which has been delivered by the Army has been really well-focused; we don’t just roll out the same training as last time. The training organisations work really hard to reflect the sorts of roles that the troops are going to do.
All the way through it was clear that Herrick 19 was going to be different. Therefore that’s been bedded into all the training courses and exercises and I’m confident that our soldiers are prepared for whatever will come their way.
Private Danny Greenhalgh, from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, with his military working dog Amy, a 4-year-old Belgian Shepherd [Picture: Richard Watt, Crown copyright]
That was certainly an opinion that was echoed by the soldiers manning the stands:
It’s my first tour,” said Lance Corporal James Carstairs, part of a 2 Medical Regiment combat medical team. “I feel prepared for everything to do with my job, and I’m very comfortable about going.
Another first-timer will be reservist Lieutenant Jabez Crisp, a watchkeeper in 2 Logistic Support Regiment. It will be his job to keep a close eye on the movements of the logistic convoys as they supply troops and bring back kit and equipment from those bases that are closing or being handed over. He said:
I admit to a healthy level of stage fright. But I’m very ready to go.
There was another army asset that could not be displayed on the day, but to which the Brigadier wanted to pay tribute:
I must mention some unsung heroes, our families,” he said, “for on the eve of deployment they too are preparing for the challenges that lie ahead. But they are not alone. Each unit has on hand a dedicated team to assist and help make the time pass as painlessly as possible.
Scotland’s most senior, and only cavalry, regiment has officially taken control of the force protection of more than 500 British Armed Forces personnel in Kabul.
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (SCOTS DG) took over as the outgoing commander, Lieutenant Colonel Brian Kitchener, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), handed control to the incoming commander Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Bartholomew.
SCOTS DG will provide essential support for all those working in Kabul, including transport and accommodation.
Lt Col ‘Barty’ Bartholomew, a veteran of the campaign in Iraq and highly experienced on the UK’s campaign in Afghanistan, described his thoughts on the months ahead:
“It’s a hugely exciting and challenging role. The Regiment is well-trained, prepared and ready for its tour of duty in Kabul. At a crucial part of the campaign, the Regiment is well placed to support and enable the military effort in the nation’s capital.
“All of the Regiment are up for the task ahead and look forward to making a difference in the coming months.”
Enduring UK commitment
The UK has maintained a presence in Kabul since NATO forces deployed there in 2001. Currently, British troops fulfil an array of tasks in the city including advising and assisting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and providing military assistance to the British Embassy.
In June this year, the ANSF formally took over for security for the whole of Afghanistan and UK support is increasingly focused at the institutional level.
In addition to their force protection role, the SCOTS DG also has a number of troops committed to the Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA) in Camp Qargha, an enduring UK commitment, which will continue to train the next generation of Afghan officers beyond 2014 when combat operations in Afghanistan ends.
"challenging and rewarding"
Outgoing commander, Lt Col Kitchener said of the last sixth months: “I expected the tour to be a challenging and rewarding time in my career and it has certainly lived up to that expectation. I now leave knowing that the unit’s mission and reputation has been handed over to a very capable unit – the SCOTS DG.
“It has been an honour to serve as the Commanding Officer of the Kabul Joint Support Unit, providing force protection and support to UK personnel across the city for the last six months.”
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards will complete a six-month operational tour (their 3rd in Afghanistan) before returning to their home base of Bad Fallingbostel in Germany.
U.S. Soldiers prepare a round for a fire support mission using an M119 105mm howitzer on Combat Outpost Wilderness, Paktya province, Afghanistan, Aug. 15, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Kamil Sztalkoper
India may deliver military equipments including weaponry and aircraft to Afghanistan, the visiting Afghan delegation to India, headed by second vice-president Mohammad Karim Khalili said.
The officials further added that the military equipment will be handed over to the Afghan military in the near future.
Afghanistan army chief of staff, Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi is also accompanying the second vice-president Mohammad Karim Khalili during his visit to India.
The delegation met with a number of high level Indian government officials including the second vice-president of India Hamid Ansari, to discuss the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi quoted by Afghanistan’s 1TV Media said, the government of India has vowed to provide a number of reconnaissance helicopters to the Afghan military.
Mr. Karimi further added that the government of Afghanistan expects New Delhi’s cooperation in providing helicopters and training of the Afghan pilots, besides providing training to Afghan armed forces.
In the meantime, the Indian vice-president Hamid Ansari said, New Delhi is committed to rebuild Afghanistan as a stable, democratic and prosperous country and hoped that the two nations can overcome the challenge posed by terrorism.
“India does not have an exit strategy. With the conviction that we shared a common past and that we are destined to share a common future, India will continue to contribute, within its capabilities, in the re-building of Afghanistan,” Mr. Ansari said.
He said India remains committed to implement the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed between the two countries in October 2011. The agreement articulates the future areas of cooperation between the two countries in diverse spheres.
Le 11 août 2013, le détachement munition français basé dans la zone militaire de l’aéroport international de Kaboul (KAIA) a procédé à une destruction de munitions sur un site de l’armée nationale afghane, le Kabul Military Training Center (KMTC) de l’armée nationale afghane.
Cette destruction visait à éliminer 600 kilos de munitions déclassées. Transmises de mandat en mandat, portées sur les militaires, transportées dans les véhicules, approvisionnant directement sur l’arme de bord (7,62 mm ou 12,7 mm), les munitions s’abîment au fil du temps et deviennent inutilisables voire dangereuses. Plutôt que de les rapatrier, il convient alors de les détruire.
Depuis le mois de mars, le détachement munition (DETMUN) a ainsi détruit plus de 6 tonnes de munitions soit 1/8 du stock total à désengager.
Le 11 août, le DETMUN a ainsi procédé à la destruction de près de 3 000 cartouches de 12,7 mm, une centaine de grenades (à main et à fusil), ainsi que quelques roquettes, par le biais d’un fourneau. Un fourneau de destruction est comparable à une sorte de « mille-feuilles » pyramidale. Sur la couche la plus basse sont déposées les munitions difficiles à détruire car elles contiennent peu de matière active.
Au-dessus, le reste des munitions en terminant par l’explosif servant à la destruction. Lors de l’explosion, l’ensemble du fourneau est écrasé contre le sol.
Placé sous les ordres de l’adjoint interarmées du soutien munition (AISM), le DETMUN est aujourd’hui composé de deux sous-officiers : un comptable munitions, expert technique qui est responsable de l’inventaire du suivi et du stock et un artificier, chef de la partie française du dépôt de KAIA et responsable des perceptions et du reversement des munitions auprès des unités soutenues.
Dans le cadre du désengagement, les militaires français du service interarmées des munitions (SIMu) assurent une gestion contrôlée et organisée des stocks : approvisionnement, comptabilité, rapatriement, destruction. Cette gestion centralisée permet d’établir une traçabilité précise des différents types de munitions appartenant aux forces françaises sur les théâtres d’opérations extérieures.
The headquarters of UK military forces in Afghanistan has moved from Lashkar Gah to Camp Bastion in an early morning helicopter operation.
The move, which was completed on 9 August, has been hailed as probably the most complex headquarters move on operations ever undertaken by the British Army.
Task Force Helmand (TFH) headquarters has been based in Lashkar Gah since May 2006, co-ordinating UK operations across Helmand province for over 7 years. The headquarters has now moved to Camp Bastion, the main hub of UK forces in Afghanistan.
The move reflects the fact that Afghan security forces now plan and conduct their own operations across the province and the UK military presence outside Camp Bastion is consequently in the process of drawing down.
Headquarters staff from 1st Mechanized Brigade moving from Lashkar Gah to Camp Bastion [Picture: Sergeant Barry Pope, Crown copyright]
The growing capability of the Afghan security forces our troops have trained is allowing us to reduce the number of UK forces in Afghanistan this year – and the relocation of HQ Task Force Helmand from Lashkar Gah to our main base at Camp Bastion marks a key milestone as we draw down. By the end of next year the UK’s combat operations in Afghanistan will be over.
In a carefully planned operation, key staff from the headquarters – which is led by the British Army’s 1st Mechanized Brigade – flew via Chinook to Camp Bastion in the early morning of 9 August 2013 to join an advance party already in place. A series of helicopter moves throughout the day ferried the remaining staff over to ensure the transition of control was seamless. Control was formally handed over to the new headquarters at around 10am local time the same morning.
A short ceremony was then held in memory of those members of the Armed Forces who have lost their lives on operations in Afghanistan.
The new Task Force Helmand headquarters building at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan [Picture: Sergeant Barry Pope, Crown copyright]
Brigadier Rupert Jones, Commander TFH, said:
The brigade headquarters move was seamless, both operationally and technically, thanks to the hard work of a great many people both here in Helmand and also right across Defence. It represents probably the most complex HQ move on operations ever undertaken by the British Army.
The move of the headquarters from Lashkar Gah is a significant moment in the campaign and reflects the progress made by the Afghan security forces and that they are now in the lead for security across Helmand. The move is in line with our progressive lift off from the Afghan security forces.
The move brings to an end a significant chapter in the British Army’s history with the headquarters at Lashkar Gah having controlled a great many feats of arms by TFH through the years.
The move follows the formal progression of TFH’s Brigade Advisory Group, made up of soldiers from 4th Battalion The Rifles, from advising their counterparts in the Afghan National Army’s 3/215 Brigade at the kandak (battalion) level to the brigade level.
The 1st Mechanized Brigade flag being raised at the new Task Force Helmand headquarters at Camp Bastion [Picture: Sergeant Barry Pope, Crown copyright]
Brigadier Jones added:
With our advising role now focused at the brigade level, this was the right time to move the Task Force headquarters to be next to that of our counterparts in 3/215 Brigade at Camp Shorabak.
Major Dan Ashton, from the Royal Corps of Signals, was responsible for co-ordinating the challenging project. He said:
Ensuring that the brigade’s units were fully supported throughout this relocation was critical. The ability of the brigade staff to work at the same level of operational tempo whilst split across 2 locations has been hugely impressive and is testament to the quality of the people within the headquarters. The level of support required to facilitate this move has been incredibly far-reaching, incorporating organisations across Afghanistan and the UK.
The HQ relocation was a technical and logistical feat, with a number of previously unencountered challenges, but has set the conditions for 1st Mechanized Brigade’s successors and the successful redeployment of UK forces from Afghanistan.
215 Signal Squadron personnel installing communications equipment inside the new Task Force Helmand headquarters at Camp Bastion [Picture: Sergeant Barry Pope, Crown copyright]
Major Liz Byfield, Officer Commanding 215 Signal Squadron, responsible for the technical aspects of the move, said:
The complexity and technical challenges of the move should not be underestimated. It required communication specialists from across Afghanistan and the UK to support. It wasn’t just the sheer amount of IT we had to move, but the number of different systems which interact with each other, with different levels of security classification, which made the move a huge undertaking.
It’s the little things you don’t always think of at the beginning – like US equipment running on different types of power – which made things more difficult.
La formation du personnel afghan aux différents métiers permettant de faire fonctionner la plateforme aéroportuaire de Kaboul est une des missions des militaires français en Afghanistan. En 2014, l’Afghanistan aura la pleine maîtrise de son aéroport.
A ce jour, plus de 80 Afghans assurent quotidiennement la sécurité des plus de 100 000 mouvements aériens par an. La majorité sont pompiers, 3 sont météorologistes et 9 contrôleurs.
Le rôle des militaires français consiste à dispenser plusieurs formations afin que le personnel puisse assurer en toute autonomie le bon fonctionnement de l’aéroport : contrôle aérien, sécurité incendie, service météorologique, management de la sécurité et maintenance des aides à la navigation et des systèmes d’information et de communication (SIC). En fonction du domaine de spécialité, les formations sont dispensées par des militaires ou par des sociétés privées.
A ce jour, 90 % des objectifs de formation du personnel afghan ont été atteints. La fin de la phase de formation est fixée à 2014. A terme, l’Afghanistan prendra le relai de l’OTAN et se dotera de règles de fonctionnement correspondant aux normes internationales pour que l’aéroport puisse véritablement recevoir des avions du monde entier.
Désormais, 500 militaires sont chargés de poursuivre l’engagement français jusqu’à la fin de la mission de l’ISAF en 2014, à travers notamment le commandement de l’aéroport de KAIA, le fonctionnement de l’hôpital médico-chirurgical à Kaboul et des missions de formation au profit de l’armée nationale afghane.
Both countries have an interest in Afghan stability post-2014. They should consider cooperation.
As NATO forces continue the process of withdrawing from Afghanistan, the People’s Republic of China finds itself in a conundrum. With tensions flaring throughout the Asia-Pacific, in part because of a more aggressive Chinese foreign policy, the last thing Beijing wants is to face a security risk along its western border. Regardless of Beijing’s wishes, it will need to become more involved in efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. The United States and its international partners thus have an opportunity to provide incentive for China to become a more reliable international security participant. Unfortunately, China seems unable to escape the inertia of its own politics, while the United States is increasingly consumed by concerns involving Chinese activities in the Asia-Pacific.
The Afghan Element within US-China Relations
The U.S.-China relationship is certain to define 21st century international relations to a great degree. As such, the two countries, as well as the world, are scrambling to better understand the relationship. China’s complaints about bilateral ties stem from a view that the United States is unfair to rising powers and, in particular, disregards Chinese traditions and history. The U.S. position is framed as one where China is an irresponsible stakeholder within the international system. China is content to free-ride off the efforts of others, while exploiting the goodwill of surrounding countries and global powers.
These portrayals aren’t completely inaccurate in either case, but they do not sufficiently define this bilateral relationship. It is undeniable that trust between the U.S. and China is low and that many parties within both countries see each other as opponents. Yet, much of the tension in the U.S.-China bilateral relationship is linked to territory, commerce, and relationships throughout the Asia-Pacific region. If we move beyond the Asia-Pacific, then greater opportunity for cooperation exists.
As such, the future of Afghanistan offers an opportunity for these two major powers to work together in furthering Afghan national – as well as South and Central Asian regional – security. With the majority of NATO forces to leave Afghanistan in 2014, China is realizing that its investments in Afghanistan will be at risk, its Central Asian trade threatened, and its relations with Pakistan strained. In short, China needs to take steps to protect its interests.
The U.S., its population exhausted from war and its politics focused on domestic problems, is consumed with withdrawing its security forces from Afghanistan. However, Washington does not wish to watch Afghanistan fall into absolute chaos. Not only would it be negatively affected by the further loss of life, but it would also make the country’s years of investment meaningless and create a security vacuum that may once again require a major U.S. presence.
Thus, China wants to protect its Western border and the U.S. wishes to find a means to enhance Afghan security. This issue can be a basis for building cooperation between the two countries, while avoiding the tension stemming from the Asia-Pacific. Unfortunately, neither country is focused on the Afghan issue in respect to the other. That must change.
Bilateral Strategic Cooperation
Too many in the United States view China as an inevitable strategic opponent, ignoring counterevidence in favor of a quasi-Cold War worldview. Likewise, many analysts in China argue that the United States is a diminishing power intent on inhibiting China’s growth. Neither country should be so easily caricatured as such. Both countries’ foreign policy establishments constantly debate how to move forward bilateral relations. What both countries need to do is recognize mutual interests. Mutual interests, particularly outside the Asia-Pacific region, should be the source of U.S.-China international cooperation. In the security arena, Afghanistan’s stability is a major threat and a vital opportunity.
First, each country needs to figure out what costs it is willing to pay for Afghan security. Both countries publicly declare their desire for a prosperous and safe Afghanistan, but neither has made headway in exploring what international institutions it will need in order to reach the desired end stage. China, given its policies of peaceful development and respect to sovereignty, will resist pressure to step up its involvement in security matters. The U.S., for its part, will be intensely hesitant about China taking on a more robust role in Afghanistan. Yet the past ten years have proven that when it comes to Afghanistan, what works best is often not what any party favors.
Second, the U.S. and China should immediately initiate both formal and informal dialogues regarding Afghanistan post-2014. Experts can meet in a Track II setting to formulate policy options, while Track I meetings can follow. These meetings need to be candid and based on past arrangements that proved successful, such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in Southeast Asia and anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
Third, both countries should utilize international institutions in which they have influence in order to build a comprehensive Afghan security policy. For the U.S., this means working with its strategic allies to provide continued training for Afghan security forces, foreign aid and private investment. In China’s case, it means engaging the Shanghai Cooperative Organization to mobilize resources throughout Central Asia.
Fourth, and most importantly, both countries need to cooperate in their engagements with both Afghanistan’s leaders and South Asian leaders. The U.S. can leverage its relationship with Afghanistan’s government to further interaction between China’s leaders and their Afghan counterparts. Both countries can engage Pakistan’s new government to show a united will that encourages Pakistan to do more to inhibit destabilizing groups operating in Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Finally, India should be brought into talks with respect to its diplomatic operations in Afghanistan and its own investment in the country.
Difficult, But Not Impossible
It will be immensely difficult for the U.S. and China to cooperate on Afghanistan. Over the long term, however these two countries have parallel national interests when it comes to Afghanistan and that must be the basis of all forward movement. Added to the complexities of the bilateral relationship are the intricacies that will be required when working with the Afghan, Central Asian, Pakistani, and Indian governments. In short, this is no small task. The alternative, however, will certainly be a more chaotic Afghanistan and by extension, a more unstable Central and South Asia.
This effort will be more difficult for China, for it will require them to revise their stance on international security engagement. There is no chance that China will send security forces to Afghanistan, but it is equally unlikely that another international force will replace NATO. Thus, China must engage the security situation directly. As such, the U.S., given its experience in Afghanistan, will have an opportunity to encourage China to take on a more responsible international security role.
Again, this process will not be easy, but it allows an opportunity for the U.S. and China to engage in coordinated security policy. Both countries desire stability in Afghanistan and it is that, not external problems within the bilateral relationship, which must be the focus of both countries. There is no more pressing issue in Central and South Asia than Afghanistan.
Jeffrey Payne is the Senior Research Associate at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, DC. The views expressed in this article are his alone and do not represent the official policy or position of the National Defense University, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.
La CIA ferme ses bases secrètes en Afghanistan, pays où les troupes américaines combattent depuis 2001, annonce mercredi le journal The Washington Post en se référant à des sources bien informées.
La CIA réduira de deux fois le nombre de ses bases, passant de 12 à 6 au cours des deux prochaines années, précise le journal.
La réduction de la présence physique de la CIA en Afghanistan s'explique par la diminution de la menace d'attaques de l'organisation terroriste d'Al-Qaïda. Actuellement, cette organisation agit essentiellement depuis le Pakistan et le nombre de ses chefs s'est considérablement réduit depuis 12 ans.
Par ailleurs, selon le journal, la CIA a changé de stratégie dans ce pays, remplaçant son réseau d'agents par une flottille de drones qui permettent de contrôler l'espace aérien de l'Afghanistan et du Pakistan et de frapper des terroristes présumés.
Le commandant Sébastien est en mission depuis peu de temps, avec son équipe sur le camp Mike Spann au nord de l’Afghanistan.
Le commandant est formateur C-IED (contre – IED). Autrement dit, il a pour mission de former les membres de la coalition mais aussi les forces afghanes contre la menace IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) ou EEC (Engins Explosifs de Circonstance) : « Je donne aux chefs de convoi les techniques qui leur permettront de détecter la présence d’un IED. Ils sont souvent placés aux mêmes endroits, appelés « hot spot », comme les passages à gué ou les zones sablonneuses. En cas de doute, je leur apprends les méthodes pour placer le convoi en sécurité et prévenir ainsi un second piège. En aucun cas ils ne doivent toucher à un IED » explique le commandant Sébastien.
Le commandant Sébastien n’appartient pas à l’arme du génie, l’arme des démineurs. Chef de la section opérations du bureau maintenance, opération, instruction (BMOI) du 3e régiment du matériel (3e RMAT) de Muret, il a suivi, en 2010, une formation d’instructeur contre-IED délivrée par l’OTAN.
Lors de sa première mission en Afghanistan en 2009 au sein des Operational Mentoring Liaison Team (OMLT), il prend conscience de la menace IED. C’est donc tout naturellement qu’il effectue la formation récemment créee par l’OTAN. Aujourd’hui il dirige une équipe de formateurs composée d’un polonais et d’une anglaise. « Les équipes changent souvent et il faut s’adapter en permanence. Je profite de l’expérience et de la façon d’enseigner de chacun. Sur cette mission je dispose de la rigueur polonaise et du flegme britannique ». L’anglais est la langue de travail. Après plusieurs mois, Sébastien la maitrise parfaitement mais son accent fait toujours autant sourire les anglophones. « Travailler dans un milieu Otanien est très enrichissant. On découvre les particularismes des autres nations, on échange des mots dans toutes les langues et l’on tisse rapidement un réseau de contacts dans des dizaines de pays »
Sur le camp Mike Spann, Sébastien et son équipe doivent assurer une formation de 5 jours au profit des officiers et des sous-officiers du 209e Kandak de l’armée Afghane. Lorsque tous les élèves sont présents, l’équipe débute sa présentation par quelques mots en Dari pour détendre l’atmosphère. «J’aime travailler avec eux, ils sont sensibles au fait qu’on essaie de créer de bonnes relations avec eux. En fin de stage, si je suis invité à prendre le thé et qu’ils me demandent quand je reviens, c’est qu’ils sont content de mon travail ».
Après le Nord de l’Afghanistan, le commandant Sébastien partira dans l’est, à Herat, pour assurer une formation au profit de l’armée italienne et espagnole. « J’adore ce travail. J’ai horreur de rester derrière mon bureau à Bagram et ne loupe pas une occasion de partir sur le terrain » ajoute-t-il.
L’emploi du temps du commandant Sébastien est complet pour les 2 prochains mois. Homme de relations, il profite de chaque mission pour créer de nouveaux contacts et promouvoir la formation CIED. Du coup, les demandes de nouvelles formations s’accumulent, venant aussi bien de la coalition que des forces afghanes. « Si cette formation permet de sauver la vie d’un soldat, alors j’aurai rempli ma mission ».
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