-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,638249,00.html
}}}>Begin
Global aid for Kabul, Iranian arms for Herat
The warlord Ismail Khan has found an eager ally in the fight to keep
his regional fiefdom
Suzanne Goldenberg in Herat
Thursday January 24, 2002
The Guardian
The officer, a veteran of the Afghan army, heard a loud noise -
"hummm, like that" - then a big explosion followed by a number of
small ones. The official explanation of the blast that killed at
least 18 of his men was a mishandled rocket. But that is not what he
and his fellow officers believe.
"The officers at the military base told me afterwards it was a cruise
missile," he said.
Two missiles, in fact, fired with considerable precision at a shipment of Iranian
guns, anti-personnel mines and other munitions nestling in the military headquarters
of Qul-i-Urdo.
It was a sign of Washington's displeasure with the legendary warlord Ismail Khan who,
with Iran's backing, styles himself the emir of western Afghanistan.
In the week in which Hamid Karzai's interim government in Kabul was promised $4.5bn
(�3bn) in international aid, the re-emergence of Ismail Khan and his mission to build
an independent fighting force in the west of Afghan
istan has raised fear for the stability of the entire US-backed reconstruction plan.
Since Ismail Khan's return to Herat in November, Iran has sent about 20 lorries
stacked with Afghan currency for him to pay his troops and keep their loyalty.
Columns of soldiers stamp up the dust on the parade ground on the edge of town and, at
the new military camp, troops clamber over rows of massed tanks.
"There are always Iranian people coming and going nowadays. They have been training a
lot of people in these days in Ismail Khan's army," a customs official said.
To Ismail Khan, an ethnic Tajik and former officer in the Afghan army celebrated for
leading a bloody revolt against the Soviet military presence in early 1979, Tehran's
support is a lifeline.
In recent weeks, a dozen or so Iranian lorries have arrived at the main military base
each day. Documents at the local branch of the foreign ministry do not list their
contents, but commanders of Ismail Khan's force say t
hey carry weapons, uniforms and other material under the guise of providing
humanitarian assistance.
"Some friendly countries are helping us," a middle-ranking commander from Ghowar
province said. "Ismail Khan told us that new uniforms have recently arrived and we
will get them."
The signs of Iran's largesse are readily visible. The troops in Herat are better
outfitted than the rag-tag militias that slouch around Kabul. At Ismail Khan's
headquarters, men in uniform apply a fresh coat of green pain
t to the ceremonial canon at the gates.
The civilian population is very much aware that Ismail Khan is marching out of step
with Afghanistan's new central government. Heratis no longer extol his heroics, but
mutter about a regime that is far less liberal than K
abul's.
Despite a natural affinity to Iran, people are deeply unsettled by the growing
military and economic links with Tehran. Though 40% of the population is Shia, as in
Iran, and people here speak Farsi rather than the Darhi d
ialect used in the rest of Afghanistan, they remain suspicious of Iran's motives.
They watch Iranian television and they buy Iranian goods in the bazaar, but they also
fear that Tehran's growing influence could alienate them from the government in Kabul,
and so rob them of the billions of dollars in in
ternational aid now expected to pour into the country.
They bridle at Iranian television's description of the new government in Kabul as
"US-backed", and they are offended at the chat shows promoting business opportunities
at a time when much of the country is in ruins.
"Intervention is very different from cultural links. Most people do not want Iran to
have influence in the city even if they like Iranian television and cultural
programmes," local teacher said.
"People here are very suspicious of Iran. They do not like this kind of assistance.
They believe Iran does not want peace in Afghanistan."
Ismail Khan's militarisation has also reawakened ethnic and territorial rivalries.
This week Haji Gullalai, the intelligence chief of the southern city of Kandahar, said
the local authorities had raised a force of 20,000
tribal fighters, determined to stop the warlord's ambitions.
He accused Ismail Khan of sending expeditionary forces into Helmand province, which
borders Kandahar, to try to win over the loyalties of local fighters, and of sending
his men to prey on trade convoys between the two cit
ies.
But Ismail Khan is not the man he once was. America's war in Afghanistan, and the
resulting division of power in an interim administration in favour of the Tajiks of
the Panjshir valley, has left him isolated in his fiefd
om.
He threatened to boycott the inauguration of the new government last month, and has
yet to be named officially as governor of Herat.
Predictably, he has turned to an ally which gave refuge to thousands of his fighters
during the Taliban era and has bankrolled his militia for years.
America's concern is evident. Last week its envoy to Afghanistan told
journalists in Kabul that Washington was worried about Tehran bulking
up Ismail Khan's army and extending its influence over civilians
under the guise of humanitarian aid.
Yesterday CIA officials climbed into a four-wheel drive in the centre
of town and headed out in the direction of Ismail Khan's base, on the
road to the Iranian border.
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002
End<{{{
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