General details Afghanistan campaign plan
By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
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The population centers of Afghanistan's Helmand and Kandahar provinces
and Spin Bolduk, on the Pakistan border, constitute key areas in the fight
against the Taliban this year, the commander of the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF)'s Joint Command said at Camp Eggers today.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. David M. Rodriguez told reporters traveling with
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that the Taliban and its terrorist allies
are trying to return to the area, which Coalition and Afghan troops wrested
from them over the past year. "We've been able to degrade and attrit their
leaders and their command and control, which is obviously critical to what
they are doing," the general said. Over the past year, he added, Coalition
and Afghan forces also have degraded Taliban support bases. But the Taliban
are "going to go all-out to reverse the losses they've had in the past
year," the general said. The Taliban are going after the gains the Coalition
has made, Rodriguez said, noting the Taliban will try to kill Afghan tribal
and government leaders, and attack Afghan security forces. "We have to
continue those efforts to get the irreversible momentum that we need and the
Afghans' desire [to maintain gains made] in the south so we can shift our
main effort back to the east," Rodriguez said. The east is a far more
complex area because of the mixture of tribes that live there, the
mountainous terrain and long-established ties over the Pakistani border, he
explained.
All this is occurring as Coalition forces prepare to draw down. The
agreement signed at NATO's November summit in Lisbon, Portugal, calls for
the Afghan government to have security control of the country by the end of
2014. "As we look forward to drawing down, we have to make those good
decisions and judgments about how to draw down and get more Afghans in the
lead while we still continue the momentum forward," Rodriguez said.
Though it's a tall order to hold the territory in the south, disrupt the
Taliban in the east and draw down Coalition forces, it can be done because
of the increased numbers and capabilities of Afghan forces, the general
said. The coalition's surge in Afghanistan was 40,000 more soldiers, 30,000
of them American. "The other part that's not focused on is there are more
than 94,000 Afghan forces," he noted.
At some point, the general said, momentum for security will be irreversible.
Communities are seeing the benefits to being allied with the Afghan
government. Governance and economic development are coming to the areas.
Roads, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure improvements mean
buildings jobs and set the stage for long-term prosperity, Rodriguez said.
Once the irreversible momentum is in place in the south, the Coalition can
shift its main effort to the eastern part of the country, he said. "It's all
conditions-based," the general added. "It does not mean that you are
shifting forces. There are a lot of things that go into the main effort: the
prioritization of the [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance], the
prioritization of mobile Afghan forces - national civil order police, the
commandos, and so on."
And Afghan forces are getting better. Afghan units are arriving at their
areas better trained from the start, Rodriguez said, and then they partner
with Coalition forces. As time goes by, the Afghan forces - be they police
or army - need less and less direct supervision and guidance, the general
said. And as the army and police get stronger, he added, they get better
recruits. Afghan forces still need help to operate, he acknowledged, with
the major shortages being command and control, intelligence integration,
logistics, medical evacuation and high-end special operations forces.
Coalition commanders want more Afghan units, the general said. "They are
getting better leaders all the time, they are getting better numbers, and
[Coalition commanders] know the overall plan is to work themselves out of a
job here," he said.
Related site: <http://www.nato.int/isaf/> NATO International Security
Assistance Force .
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