briefi ng

Supporting Extending governance, security reconstruction and development Helping secure Afghanistan’s future

s part of wider international efforts, NATO-led forces are Aworking to help secure Afghanistan’s future and prevent the country from being used as a base for terrorists again. Afghanistan is the front line in the fi ght against terrorism and other threats to universally recognized values. Its security is directly linked to that of NATO member countries. Th e Allies are united The NATO-led International Security countries. It is assisting the Afghan in their commitment to Assistance Force (ISAF) is operating government in extending its authority keep the NATO-led under a United Nations mandate and across the country and establishing a at the request of the Government of stable and secure environment in which force in the country the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. sustainable reconstruction, development, for as long as and good governance can take place. ISAF is a multinational force, which in the Afghan government April 2008 comprised troops from 40 ISAF’s ultimate goal is to enable deems it necessary countries, including all 26 NATO member Afghanistan to provide for its own security without the support of ISAF. To closely with the Afghan government as Allied leaders stressed that “Afghanistan this end, one of ISAF’s key tasks is to well as other international organiza- is the Alliance’s key priority” at NATO’s help train and build up the Afghan tions and actors. Summit in Bucharest in April 2008, where National Army and security forces. a meeting dedicated to Afghanistan NATO is also helping the Afghan gov- NATO’s strategy in Afghanistan focuses was held with ISAF partners and high- ernment to develop the necessary on extending security, and supporting level representatives of international defence structures and institutions governance, reconstruction and devel- organizations. They published a strate- through a substantial programme of opment. A Senior Civilian Representa- gic vision for ISAF, guided by four key defence cooperation that was launched tive has been appointed to coordinate principles: a fi rm and shared long-term by a joint NATO-Afghan declaration in the political-military aspects of the commitment; support for enhanced September 2006. Alliance’s commitment to Afghanistan. Afghan leadership and responsibility; This envoy works closely with ISAF, a comprehensive approach by the However, security cannot be achieved liaises with the Afghan government international community, bringing by military means alone. It is essential and other international organizations, together civilian and military efforts; that ISAF’s military efforts be duly coor- and maintains contacts with neighbour- and increased cooperation with dinated with the civilian assistance pro- ing countries. Afghanistan’s neighbours, especially vided by other key actors in Afghanistan Pakistan. This declaration is supported in a comprehensive manner. NATO’s Helping Afghanistan recover after by a medium-term political-military engagement is an integral part of the decades of civil war, the repressive rule plan for ISAF, which will be updated broader international community’s of the and the aftermath of war is regularly and will serve as a basis for support for an Afghan-driven stabiliza- a long-term challenge. Progress is being measuring progress. ■ tion process. The Alliance is working made but much remains to be done.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan Population: approx. 31 million (July 2007) Area: 650,000 km2 Land boundaries: China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Ethnic groups: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%. Minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 13%, Uzbek 9%

© 2007 Produced with licensed data from Collins Bartholomew This map is for briefi ng purposes only. The publisher can accept no responsability for errors or omissions, changes in the detail given or for any expenses or loss thereby caused. The map should not be taken as an authority or international boundaries. Extending security

SAF has gradually extended its presence across the country. INATO and ISAF are also working to build Afghanistan’s capacity to provide for its own security.

Since NATO took command of ISAF in two million residents and commerce 2003, the force has extended its pres- and industry. The area has been ence across the whole of Afghanistan, attacked several times by the Taliban in a phased approach that was com- in an attempt to disrupt the progress of pleted in 2006 (see also “Brief History the reconstruction project. Consider- of ISAF” on back cover). able progress was made in securing and stabilizing the area over spring A key focus of ISAF operations is to and summer 2007. The centre of the create the security conditions that will Sangin district is now under Afghan allow sustainable reconstruction, government control, the bazaar is open development, and good governance to for business again, and a new school take place on a country-wide scale. and police station have been built.

A good example of this is ongoing ISAF’s security and stabilization oper- Operation Achilles, a joint operation ations are conducted in cooperation with Afghan forces, which was with the Afghan security forces. As it launched in northern Helmand prov- builds up in numbers and capacity, the ince in March 2007 at the request of is increasingly the Afghan government. The key objec- able to take on the leadership of these tive is to secure the area around the operations (for more see “Empowering ISAF’s security and . This is a long-term initia- Afghanistan’s security forces”, page 5). tive and huge undertaking. Once reha- stabilization operations bilitated, the dam will improve the water Extending security in Afghanistan are conducted in supply for local communities, restore requires increasing security at its borders. irrigation systems for farmlands and This is why ISAF works closely with cooperation with the provide suffi cient electric power for Pakistan, a neighbour of Afghanistan Afghan security forces

3 that has a vital role to play in the fi ght forces. These defeats have forced against terrorism. Practical military-to- Taliban extremists to change tactics Commanding military cooperation is taking place and to resort increasingly to terrorist ISAF through a tripartite commission, which activities. However, from October 2006 includes senior military offi cials from through to the end of 2007, 70 per cent The North Atlantic Council (NAC) Afghanistan, Pakistan and ISAF. of terrorist events have occurred in 10 is the Alliance’s principal decision- per cent of Afghanistan’s 398 districts, making body. It provides overall coordination and political direc- Considerable progress has been where less than 6 per cent of the tion for ISAF. This is done in close made. Three fi fths of Afghanistan is Afghan population live. consultation with non-NATO ISAF considered as stable – the regions in troop-contributing nations. the north, west and around the capital Other ISAF supporting security tasks have been relatively calm for well over include support provided to the Afghan Based on the political guidance a year. Today, the key security chal- government in the removal and canton- from the North Atlantic Council, overall strategic command and lenge remains in the southern prov- ment of heavy weapons belonging to control of ISAF is exercised by the inces of Helmand, Uruzgan and various armed factions in the country Allied Command for Operations Kandahar, where engagements with to special government-controlled sites. which is based at Supreme Head- the Taliban insurgents have increased They have also supported the disarma- quarters Allied Powers in Europe as ISAF expanded its operations into ment, demobilization and reintegration (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium. An new areas. However, the insurgents of former combatants, and assisted the International Coordination Cell at SHAPE facilitates military coor- suffer regular defeats whenever they Afghan government in the disarma- dination with non-NATO troop- attempt to confront ISAF and Afghan ment of illegally armed groups. contributors.

Under SHAPE, the Joint Force Command Brunssum in the is responsible for ISAF: a multinational endeavour staffi ng, deploying and sustaining the mission. Brunssum serves as In April 2008, 40 countries from around relationships with NATO but share the operational-level headquar- the globe were contributing troops to NATO’s values and often contribute ters between ISAF headquarters ISAF, including all 26 NATO Allies. to NATO-led operations). in Kabul and the strategic com- mand at SHAPE. Through this Among non-NATO troop contributors “reach-back” capability, the ISAF Other countries are providing logisti- are countries from NATO’s Partnership Commander in Afghanistan is cal support for ISAF operations. Many for Peace: Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, able to draw on a vast pool of staff Partner countries in the Caucasus and Croatia, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, expertise and specialized assets Central Asia are providing support in areas such as strategic plan- Sweden, and the former Yugoslav ranging from over-fl ight rights to the Republic of Macedonia*, and Ukraine. ning, without having to deploy leasing of military bases to individual them to Afghanistan. ■ Allies and transit agreements. Jordan, which participates in NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue, also contrib- In April 2008, an agreement between utes to the mission. Russia and NATO was signed, which will facilitate land transit across Rus- Troop-contributors from further afi eld sian territory of non-military equip- include Australia, New Zealand and ■ Singapore – these are among what ment destined for ISAF. are often referred to as NATO * Turkey recognizes the Republic of Macedonia “contact countries” (non-member with its constitutional name. countries that have less formal

Photo by MOD Netherlands 4 Empowering Afghanistan’s security forces Building an effective Afghan National Army (ANA) is critical to building a self- sustaining Afghanistan. One of ISAF’s key military tasks is to increase the ANA’s capability and reach through mentoring and support.

Afghan national security forces are growing in strength and capability every day. In 2004, the ANA barely existed. In April 2008, the force stood at about 50 000 and is expected to rise to 70 000 by the end of the year. Many Afghan troops are conducting the Afghan forces’ mobility, combat Afghan national security operations side by side with ISAF support and combat-service support. forces are growing in forces. In several cases, the ANA is leading major operations. This was ISAF’s involvement with the ANA strength and capability the case, for example, when Afghan focuses more on its employment and every day troops successfully retook , on bringing Afghan forces up to oper- a Taliban stronghold in Helmand ating capability. ISAF Operational province, in December 2007. Mentor and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) support training and deploy with ANA The is the G8 lead nation troops on operations in an advisory for the development of the ANA. Signifi - role. These teams also play an impor- cant progress has been made, though tant role in coordinating ANA and ISAF further work is required to strengthen operations. By March 2008, ISAF had

ISAF post-operations humanitarian relief fund

A fund was set up in 2006 to provide The fund, established under the aus- quick humanitarian assistance in the pices of the Commander of ISAF, con- immediate aftermath of signifi cant sists entirely of voluntary donations ISAF operations. from ISAF troop-contributing coun- tries. By early 2008, over € 1 000 000 Assistance includes the provision of had been disbursed. The North food, shelter and medicines as well as Atlantic Council is regularly updated the repair of buildings or key infra- on the use of the fund through its structure. Such assistance is provided Senior Civilian Representative in on a short-term basis and responsibil- Afghanistan. ■ ity is handed over to civilian actors as soon as circumstances permit.

5 deployed 34 OMLTs, each composed other areas, such as promoting interop- of between 12 and 19 personnel. The erability between Afghan and NATO Alliance is working to increase this forces. Public diplomacy will be another number signifi cantly. focus of cooperation.

Individual NATO member countries are Following consultations in 2007, NATO also supporting the ANA by helping agreed to assist the Afghan Ministry of fi nance the development of training Defence in developing a sustainable infrastructure and by donating military defence-planning process and budget

© UK Army equipment and ammunition. capability. Work is being taken forward in the context of a Five Year Strategic NATO-Afghan programme of Defence Plan, currently being drawn cooperation up by the Afghan authorities, which will Complementing ISAF’s work in training provide the basis for decisions on the and building up the Afghan National future structure, size and composition Army, an important part of building of the Afghan national defence forces. Afghanistan’s capacity to provide for NATO will also provide training oppor- its own security is to help develop the tunities and courses related to defence necessary national defence structures reform and defence planning. and institutions. Through a Trust Fund project, support NATO is lending support in this area is also being given to Afghanistan to under a joint programme, launched in secure its munitions (see box below). © SHAPE September 2006 in a joint declaration Other areas of cooperation currently by NATO and Afghanistan, which being considered under the NATO- established a framework for coopera- Afghan programme of cooperation tion. This cooperation will concentrate include support to strengthen on defence reform, defence institution- Afghanistan’s professional military building and the military aspects of education system and to promote security-sector reform, as well as on integrity in the defence sector. ■

An important part of Securing Afghan munitions building Afghanistan’s capacity to provide for A two-year Trust Fund project, due to authorities for the development of a be launched in spring 2008, will sup- national action plan for ammunition its own security is to port Afghanistan in enhancing the stockpile management, including the help develop the physical security and effective stock- disposal of munitions. pile management of its munitions. necessary national Total costs for the project, which is defence structures and The project aims to build national fi nanced by voluntary contributions capacity. Technical assistance and from individual NATO members, institutions advice will be given to improve secu- Partner countries and other interested rity and management at two national countries, are estimated at € 6.29 ammunition depots near Kabul at million. Project implementation will be Khairabad and Chimtalla. Support is overseen by the NATO Maintenance also being provided to the Afghan and Supply Agency (NAMSA). ■

6 Th e international community’s goal of helping to securing Afghanistan’s future will require a long-term commitment Supporting governance, reconstruction and development SAF’s mission is to provide the security needed for civilian recon- Istruction and development without which progress will be tempo- rary. There can be no development without security in Afghanistan, nor can long-term security be achieved without development. Coordination of a wide spectrum of civilian and military instruments in a comprehensive manner is required.

There has been substantial progress commissioned by the UN Development in Afghanistan since 2002. More than Programme (UNDP). The country is 58 000 reconstruction and develop- also one of the youngest in the world ment projects have been launched with over half of its population under 18. across Afghanistan, which has The unemployment rate is generally contributed to increasing gross estimated to be around 40 per cent and domestic product. The average adult literacy levels are very low. A key Afghan’s income has doubled. Access priority must be to provide young to basic health care is improving and Afghans with opportunities to learn and infant mortality is falling. School enrol- to earn a living to prevent them from ment of children, including girls, has becoming radicalized or being drawn increased from 900 000 to 6.4 million into the drug economy. over the last fi ve years. Four million refugees have returned. The UNDP’s report highlights, in partic- ular, the need for the rule of law and Nevertheless, the development chal- governance to underpin development lenge in Afghanistan remains huge. in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, these The country is one of the poorest coun- remain weak in a large part of the coun- tries in the world, ranked 174 out of try. The ever-growing drugs trade is a 178, according to the Human Develop- key challenge to the expansion of the ment Report on Afghanistan for 2007, rule of law. It feeds pervasive corruption

7 Every eff ort is made to ensure that initiatives are in line with the Afghan government’s priorities

© DND/CF

and fi nances warlords, organized crime according to the priorities identifi ed by and the insurgents, and could desta- the Afghans themselves. bilize the country if left unchecked (see box, page 9). Having completed its expansion across Afghanistan, ISAF has been able to In light of the many challenges that work with the full array of civilian actors remain, it is clear that the international to build up a comprehensive picture of community’s goal of helping to securing what is being done or needs to be done Afghanistan’s future will require a long- to meet the needs of the Afghan people term commitment. International donors in different parts of the country. By pledged their continued support at a helping to record progress and identify conference in London in January 2006, gaps, the Afghan Country Stability where the Afghanistan Compact was Picture has proved to be a valuable agreed with the Afghan government. tool for the Afghan government in It set benchmarks for progress over directing international assistance the next fi ve years in specifi c areas towards priority areas. concerning security; governance, rule of law and human rights; and economic In exceptional circumstances, where and social development. Progress will civilian actors are unable to provide be reviewed at a conference in Paris in assistance because of security or logis- June 2008. tical constraints, ISAF itself may carry out or commission reconstruction or Afghan-led development development work to meet the needs strategy of the local population. Development Work on achieving the benchmarks advisors are embedded within ISAF’s agreed in the Afghan Compact has Provincial Reconstruction Teams, been taken forward in the framework of Regional Commands and at ISAF an interim Afghanistan National Devel- Headquarters. Every effort is made to opment Strategy (ANDS). Following a ensure that there is no duplication of comprehensive consultation process effort, and that initiatives are sustain- across Afghanistan, a new ANDS is able and in line with the Afghan expected to be fi nalized by mid-2008. government’s priorities.

ISAF is working with the Afghan author- ities and international actors to facili- tate reconstruction and development

8 Close coordination among all actors Counter-narcotics: Two key structures have been set up to a major challenge help ensure close coordination between the Afghan government, ISAF and Afghanistan produces over 90 per cent other international partners. of the world’s illegal opium and is also the largest producer of marijuana, A Joint Coordination and Monitoring according to a report published by the Board (JCMB) is charged with imple- UN Offi ce on Drugs and Crime narcotics efforts. Its Afghan National menting the Afghanistan Compact. It is (UNODC) in early 2008. Opium pro- Drug Control Strategy defi nes four chaired by the Afghan president and duction amounted to over half of priorities: targeting the traffi cker; Afghanistan’s gross domestic product providing alternative rural liveli- comprises key government actors and in 2007. While poppy cultivation is fall- hoods; reducing demand and representatives of the international ing in northern and central Afghani- developing state institutions. The community. A number of functional stan, it continues to grow at an international community is support- working groups report to the JCMB. alarming rate in the south and south- ing the government’s efforts, in par- ISAF and NATO’s Senior Civilian Rep- west, where governance is weak. ticular the , which is resentative play a full role in this body. These regions, which are Taliban the G8 lead nation in this area. ISAF strongholds, accounted for an esti- also provides support. A Policy Action Group (PAG), created mated 78 per cent of Afghanistan’s cultivation in 2007. The total export NATO-led forces provide indirect in July 2006 at the initiative of the value of opiates produced in and traf- assistance to the counter-narcotics Afghan president, focuses Afghan and fi cked from Afghanistan that year was operations of the Afghan government international efforts on fostering estimated at about US$ 4 billion – only through training, intelligence and improved security. It meets weekly and about a quarter of this went to poppy logistics. ISAF also helps the Afghan is supported by ISAF, the United farmers; the rest went to insurgents, government to explain its counter- Nations Assistance Mission in warlords and drug traffi ckers. narcotics policy to its people. ISAF Afghanistan, the World Bank, the does not take part in poppy eradica- The drugs trade threatens Afghani- tion activities. However, when Afghan European Union and the G-8 nations stan’s development and security, fos- counter-narcotics officials come that have taken the lead in supporting tering endemic corruption in the under attack, ISAF provides military Afghanistan in specific areas*. The country and fi nancing the insurgency. support if needed. PAG has four working groups on Afghan drugs are also of direct con- security, intelligence, strategic com- cern to the international community: Support is also being given for the munications, and reconstruction and the drug-fi nanced insurgency poses counter-narcotics training of Afghan development. security risks for troops deployed in and Central Asian personnel under a Afghanistan, and the drugs exported project launched in December 2005 end up on the streets of cities across by the NATO-Russia Council. The ini- the world, causing serious health and tiative seeks to build local capacity social problems and violent crime. and to promote regional networking and cooperation by sharing the com- Experience has shown that an effec- bined expertise of Russian and NATO tive counter-narcotics strategy must member countries with mid-level offi - consist of a comprehensive series of cers from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, * Japan is overseeing the demobilization, disar- interlocking measures, and that it the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, mament and reintegration of illegally armed takes sustained commitment over Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The groups. The United States is leading efforts many years to minimize production. UNODC acts as the pilot project’s to train the Afghan National Army. Italy is the leading on judicial reform. The United Kingdom executive agent. By spring 2008, is leading counter-narcotics efforts. Germany The Afghan government has the nearly 450 offi cers had been trained was leading efforts to train the Afghan National Police, until the European Union took over in primary responsibility for counter- under this project. ■ summer 2007.

9 Provincial Reconstruction Teams are key to ISAF’s eff orts to support governance, reconstruction and development

Provincial Reconstruction across Afghanistan, of which 75 per Teams cent have already been completed. Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) Schools and infi rmaries are being are key to ISAF’s efforts to support rebuilt. The water and power supply has governance, reconstruction and devel- been re-established in some regions. opment. These civilian and military Bridges and roads are being recon- teams are helping the Afghan govern- structed. Support is also being given to ment extend its authority throughout local and provincial education initia- the country, providing area security, tives, agriculture and rural development and supporting the activities of Afghan, projects, and mediation and confl ict- international and non-governmental resolution activities. Demining activities actors in the provinces. are improving safety for civilians.

In March 2008, ISAF was responsible Specifi c examples of different kinds of for 26 PRTs, led by 14 different NATO PRT-sponsored projects include: member or Partner countries with a • the construction of a new provincial total of 30 countries represented. hospital in by the Spanish-led PRT in Qala-e-Naw, at a The PRTs seek to identify Afghan cost of US$ 2.9 million; stakeholders, understand local dynam- • an initiative by the Lithuanian-led ics and encourage local ownership of PRT in to deliver 28 reconstruction and development proj- micro-hydro plants to Ghowr prov- ects. A key priority is to help build sus- ince to provide power to the local tainable Afghan capabilities by working population; through and with Afghan authorities. • the construction of a fl ood-preven- tion wall in by the In places where the security environ- Hungarian-led PRT in Pol-e-Khomri, ment does not permit other actors to at a cost of US$ 166 000; and operate effectively, the PRTs are help- • the development of a pomegranate ing get reconstruction and development nursery in an area where farmers used projects off the ground and supporting to grow poppies by the Canadian- projects to meet short-term needs. led PRT in , at a cost of US$ 60 000. ■ To date, over 7 500 civil-military coop- eration projects have been launched

10 Connecting people

NATO’s Science for Peace and journalists from NATO countries and Security (SPS) Programme has pro- other troop-contributing nations, vided the academic community of giving them a chance to meet Afghan Kabul with the tools and infrastruc- people and members of the NATO- ture needed to teach and train the led force. The aim is to promote bet- next generation of doctors, lawyers, ter understanding of the situation in teachers and engineers. High-speed Afghanistan and ISAF’s multifaceted internet access is being provided via mission there, including its coopera- the Virtual Silk Highway project, tion with a variety of Afghan and inter- which promotes internet connectivity national players. for academics in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Similarly, to help promote under- standing of NATO, groups of Afghan Another SPS-funded project is estab- opinion leaders, members of parlia- lishing a non-stop internet support ment, students, young political service for doctors, psychologists and leaders and women are regularly other healthcare workers working invited to visit to NATO Headquarters with victims of trauma. and the capitals of NATO countries. Two NATO-Afghan Student Forums NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division have been organized and student also regularly funds tours to conferences are also sponsored in Afghanistan for opinion leaders and Afghanistan. ■

11 Brief history of ISAF

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was created following the BRIEF-AFG-ENG-0408 Bonn Conference in December 2001, which was held after the repressive Taliban regime had been ousted from power by the US-led coalition, Opera- tion Enduring Freedom. The conference brought together Afghan leaders with representatives of the international com- munity. It led to the establishment of an Afghan Transitional Authority and launched the process of rebuilding Afghanistan.

In this context, a UN Security Council Resolution called for an international force to assist the Afghan Transitional Authority to maintain security in Kabul and surrounding areas. Troop- contributing nations were also called upon to support the development of new Afghan security and armed forces. In effect, a three-way partnership was established between the Transitional In October 2003, the UN Security Coun- ISAF has assisted in providing security Authority, ISAF and the United Nations cil authorized NATO-led ISAF to expand for a number of major political mile- Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to its mission beyond Kabul to the rest of stones in Afghanistan’s development. lead Afghanistan towards a more the country. ISAF’s mission is to help the These include the Constitutional Loya peaceful and prosperous future. government of Afghanistan to extend its Jirga – a grand council specifi c to authority and provide a safe and secure Afghanistan, which was convened from ISAF is not a UN force but a coalition of environment conducive to free and fair December 2003 to January 2004 to the willing, deployed to Afghanistan elections, the spread of the rule of law adopt a new constitution for the country under the mandate of a series of UN and the reconstruction of the country. – as well as the presidential election in Security Council Resolutions. In the October 2004 and parliamentary and beginning, the force was commanded ISAF’s expansion was conducted in a provincial elections in September 2005. by individual Allies on a six-month rota- staged approach, over a period of some tional basis – led fi rst by the United three years. The initial expansion was to The size of ISAF has increased progres- Kingdom, then Turkey, and then jointly the north of the country in 2003 and sively as it expanded its presence. In by Germany and the Netherlands. 2004, followed by the west in 2005, and April 2008, the force numbered around fi nally the south and the east of Afghani- 47 000 troops (including national NATO took over responsibility for ISAF stan in 2006. The expansion included support elements) from 40 countries - in August 2003, after having supported ISAF taking over and establishing new up from about 6 000 troops two years the planning and execution of the civil-military Provincial Reconstruction ago. (Forces operating under the US- German/Dutch command. ISAF is Teams (PRTs) to provide security for aid led Operation Enduring Freedom remain NATO’s first operation outside the workers and assist with reconstruction in Afghanistan on a counter-terrorism Euro-Atlantic area. work in the provinces. mission, which is separate to ISAF.) ■

For more information, please see • www..int/isaf • www.nato.int/issues/afghanistan

NATO Briefi ngs address topical Alliance issues. They are published under the authority of the Secretary General and do not necessarily refl ect offi cial opinion or policy of member governments or of NATO. NATO Public Diplomacy Division, 1110 Brussels, Belgium - Website: www.nato.int - Email: [email protected] - ©NATO 2008