i TITLE PAGE US MILITARY OPERATIONS, GOVERNANCE AND SECURITY IN AFGHANISTAN, 2001-2010 BY OKAFOR, IFEANYICHUKWU PG/MSC/09/50976 A PROJECT REPORT SUMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.Sc.) IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS). DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE FACULTY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA JANUARY, 2011 ii APPROVAL PAGE THIS PROJECT REPORT HAS BEEN APPROVED ON BEHALF OF THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. BY ------------------- ------- ---------------------------- DR KEN IFESINACHI PROF. OBASI IGWE (PROJECT SUPERVISOR) (HEAD OF DEPARTMENT) -------------------------- ------------------------------ PROF. E.O. EZEANI EXTERNAL EXAMINER DEAN OF FACULTY iii DEDICATION THIS WORK IS DEDICATED TO THE ALMIGHTY GOD iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To successfully complete this research work, I have inevitably incurred innumerable intellectual debt worthy of proper acknowledgement. First, I wish to register my unalloyed gratitude to God Almighty for His blessings and protection throughout the period of my academic sojourn in this great citadel of learning. Second, I wish to gratefully appreciate the intellectual inputs of both academic and non academic staff of Political Science Department especially my humane and brilliant supervisor – Dr. Ken Ifesinachi who patiently and dexterously guided me throughout this research work. I thank him. I also thank other lecturers like Dr. Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, Prof. Jonah Onouha, Prof. Obasi Igwe, Prof. Ikejiani Clark, Dr. I. Abada and others. Third, I wish to say a big thank you to my big brother and mentor Mr. Chilaka Francis who has consistently shown me that a sincere friend is better than uncaring brother. I thank you for assisting me in sourcing relevant materials for this project work. Also, worthy to mention are the services of my friends – Mr. Ejogo Ebele Michael, Mr. Kelechukwu Isaac, Mr. Ugochukwu Ugwu and others. Finally, I must also thank my parents, brothers and sisters – Chief and Mrs. Nwachukwu Okafor, Mr. Christopher M. Okafor, Mrs. Ijeoma Ukpai, Chinonso Okafor, Onyedikachi Okafor, Ginika Okafor, Chukwuebuka Okafor, Mr. F.C Nwachukwu, Mr. Friday Okafor and Mr. Chinedu Nwachukwu who have not only borne the burden of my academic pursuit, but have equally insisted that I must share in the joy of literacy. They have been wonderful indeed. Okafor, Ifeanyichukwu Political Science January, 2011. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page------------------------------------------------------------------i Approval Page------------------------------------------------------------ii Dedication----------------------------------------------------------------iii Acknowledgement-------------------------------------------------------iv Table of Contents--------------------------------------------------------v Abstract-------------------------------------------------------------------vi List of Acronyms and Abbreviations----------------------------------vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Statement of Problem 1.3 Objectives of Study 1.4 Significance of Study 1.5 Literature Review 1.6 Theoretical Framework 1.7 Hypotheses 1.8 Method of Data Collection CHAPTER TWO: US MILITARY OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN 2.1 US Military Plans before the 2001 Afghanistan Attacks 2.2 Legal Basis for War 2.3 Various Account of War in Afghanistan 2.4 International Reaction to the War CHAPTER THREE: US MILITARY STRATEGIES IN AFGHANISTAN AND INTERNAL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY 3.1 September 11 Attacks and Operation Enduring Freedom 3.2 Post-War Security Operations and Force Capacity Building 3.3 Taliban, Al Qaeda, and Related Insurgent Groups vi 3.4 The NATO- Led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Security in Afghanistan CHAPTER FOUR: US MILITARY OPERATIONS AND GOVERNANCE IN AFGHANISTAN 4.1 Post-Taliban Nation Building 4.2 Political Transition in Afghanistan 4.3 Enhancing Local Governance CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary 5.2 Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY vii ABSTRACT America’s military invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 has attracted a lot of scholarly debate. Its military operations in Afghanistan till date have plagued the nation into a cesspit of insecurity and misgovernance. This study has been designed to critically evaluate US military operations, governance and security in Afghanistan. To achieve the aim of the study, we raised two research questions. First, did the US government’s military strategies de-escalate the menace of insecurity in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2010? Second, has the US government’s military operations enhanced the stability of government in Afghanistan? The study anchored analysis on power theory, relied heavily on qualitative data did expost facto research design to analyze the study. After a critical review of available data and literature, the study revealed as fallows: first, that the US government’s military strategies have not reduced the menace of insecurity in Afghanistan second, US government’s military operations has not enhanced stability of governance in Afghanistan. The study is of the view that as long as America continues to have the erroneous believes that its relationship with Afghanistan is defined in terms of power, security and internal stability of governance will be a mirage in Afghanistan. viii List of Acronyms and Abbreviations OEF-Operation Enduring Freedom ISAF-International Security Assistance Force NATO-North Atlantic Treaty Organization ANA-Afghan National Army ANP-Afghan National Police UNSC-United Nations Security Council 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION The US military Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was launched along with the British military in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US. The UK has since 2002, led its own military operation, Operation Herrick, as part of the same war in Afghanistan. The character of the war evolved from a violent struggle by US led forces against Al-Qaeda and its Taliban supporters, to a complex counter-insurgency effort by U.S- led forces against Afghans who claim to be trying to expel those U.S.- led forces. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, the majority of whom have been civilians (http://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/war in Afghanistan2001 , retrieved on 15/11/2010). The first phase of the war was the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001 when the United States Launched Operation Enduring Freedom, which they claimed had the goal of “removing the safe haven to Al-Qaeda and its use of the Afghan territory as a base of operations for anti-US, and terrorist activities”. In the first phase, US and coalition forced, working with the Afghan opposition forces of the Northern Alliance, quickly ousted the Taliban regime. During the following Karzai administration, the character of the war shifted to an effort aimed at smothering an insurgency hostile to the US-backed Karzai government, in which the insurgents preferred not to directly confront the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) 2 troops, but blended into the local population and mainly used Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and Suicide Bombings. However, the US government claimed that the aim of their invasion was to find Osama Bin Laden and other high-ranking Al-Qaeda members to be put on trial, to destroy the organization of Al-Qaeda, and to remove the Taliban regime which supported and gave safe harbor to it. The Bush administration stated that as policy, it would not distinguish between terrorist organizations and nations or governments that harbored them. In other words, another ongoing operation is the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was established by the UN Security Council at the end of December 2001 to secure Kabul and the surrounding areas. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) assumed control of ISAF in 2003. By July 23, 2009, ISAF had around 64,500 troops from 42 countries with NATO members providing the core of the force. The NATO commitment is particularly important to the United States because it appears to give international legitimacy to the war. The United States has approximately 29,950 troops in ISAF. NATO Chief Promises to stand by Afghanistan (New York Times, 22 December, 2009). Moreover, the US and UK led the aerial bombing in support of ground forces supplied primarily by the Afghan Northern Alliance. In 2002, American, British and Canadian infantry were committed along with Special Forces from several allied nations, including Australia. Later, NATO troops were added, and the initial attack removed the Taliban from power, but Taliban forces have since regained strength. According to Rothstein (2006), 3 Afghanistan has experienced increased Taliban-led insurgent activity, record-high levels of illegal drug production with participation by Northern Alliance drug lords in the Karzai regime, and a corrupt government with limited control outside of Kabul. The Taliban can sustain itself indefinitely, according to a December 2009 briefing by the top U.S intelligence officer in Afghanistan. The Slide I PDF (2010) maintains that on December 1, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that he would escalate U.S. military involvement by deploying an additional 30,000 soldiers over a period of six months. He also proposed to begin troop withdrawals 16 months from the date. The following day, the former American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal cautioned that the timeline was flexible and