HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25144-2002Jul18.html U.S. Trains Afghan National Army By Dusan Stojanovic Associated Press Writer Thursday, July 18, 2002; 12:43 PM KABUL, Afghanistan �� A U.S. Army drill instructor bellows at 50 Afghan recruits and orders them to do push-ups on the hot desert sand � a punishment after one of them insulted another's tribe. "We're all one! We're not enemy soldiers! That's how we operate here!" the U.S. special forces instructor in beige camouflage fatigues shouts in English. His interpreter dutifully bellows out the words in the Dari language. The U.S. military has started an 18-month training course for the new Afghan National Army, a multiethnic force meant to serve the central government. One of its first tasks will be to disarm militias that have battled each other for decades. The presence of private armies is one of the biggest problems facing President Hamid Karzai as he tries to rebuild the war-shattered country. The national army is "the cornerstone for any democratic institution to defend itself against threats internally," said Lt. Col. Kevin M. McDonnell, U.S. commander at the military training base east of Kabul. "The international community will continue to provide help from threats of external sources, but it's the internal threats that the government has to be able to defend itself from and that's the purpose of this army," McDonnell said. On Monday, Karzai ordered private armies to disband, but he has little political clout outside Kabul, and it will take months before the national army has enough soldiers to enforce his order. Some Afghan warlords run their enclaves like private mini-states. They maintain armies, collect taxes and ignore the central government � even though some have positions in Karzai's administration. A well-trained and well-armed military is widely seen as the only way the government can disarm the militias, guarantee security and extend its authority across Afghanistan. The United Nations set the target size of the new army at 60,000 soldiers. The first two infantry battalions, each numbering about 300 men, are going through a 10-week training course. The first, armed with Romanian-made EK-47 Kalashnikovs, 82mm mortars and grenade launchers, will be declared operational Tuesday. The Afghan defense minister, Gen. Mohammed Fahim, wants the army to eventually number 200,000 men, incorporating 10,000 ethnic Tajik troops he keeps in Kabul and in the Panjshir Valley. Some Western diplomats consider Fahim's force, which has 500 armored personnel carriers and 300 tanks, as a possible threat to Karzai's administration. They say that if Fahim wanted to topple Karzai, he could easily sweep aside the lightly armed International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended expanding the scope of the international force. He said "a limited expansion" of the peacekeepers to areas outside Kabul "would make a huge contribution to the consolidation of peace." The Bush administration fears expanding the force or basing it outside Kabul could mean that the international community is taking over the role of the Afghan government. Instead, Washington prefers to use and train the new army. Critics say this approach is unrealistic. There has been a high attrition rate among the new soldiers who complain about low salaries � about $30 a month � and poor living conditions. Forty percent of the first contingent of 500 recruits dropped out. "Some soldiers came here because they thought they would be getting more money ... others thought they would be trained in the United States or elsewhere abroad," McDonnell said. Many Afghan soldiers who remained appeared happy and optimistic. "The national army is a huge step in the right direction," said one recruit, Mohammed Asan. "It will help Afghans forget about all those tribal differences which have devastated the country." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes http://autos.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
