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Asia

Afghan army's future depends on govt reforms: NATO

By AFP
Published | Updated
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Afghanistan security forces arrive at the entrance gate of a foreign logistics company in Kabul on July 2, 2013. Afghanistan's fledging security forces will not be sustainable as they take on the Taliban unless major reforms are pushed through the government in Kabul, a senior NATO commander warned Tuesday. (AFP/File)

KABUL (AFP) – Afghanistan's fledging security forces will not be sustainable as they take on the Taliban unless major reforms are pushed through the government in Kabul, a senior NATO commander warned Tuesday.

Lieutenant General John Lorimer, deputy commander of the NATO coalition in Afghanistan, said the national army and police were now at nearly full strength, but their long-term effectiveness remained uncertain.

"The Afghan security forces' full complement of 352,000 has almost been achieved. We now need to concentrate on quality because what we have today is not yet fully sustainable," the British general told reporters.

"We need to assist the Afghan ministry of defence and ministry of interior in adapting, restructuring and developing capacity.

"Currently neither of those institutions has the necessary end-to-end processes to generate enduring capability."

Lorimer said that NATO coalition leaders had to ensure that the Afghan government learned the necessary budgeting, planning and management skills to keep the country's security forces active on the battlefield.

"We are now very much focusing on this key area," said Lorimer, who took up his post last month.

All 87,000 NATO-led combat troops in Afghanistan will leave by the end of 2014, and the Afghan army and police have taken the lead in all operations to thwart the insurgents who have fought a fierce guerrilla war for 12 years.

NATO troop numbers currently drop by more than 2,000 a week, and many Afghans fear a return of nationwide violence and turmoil as the Taliban ramp up efforts to regain power after they were ousted in 2001.

"Can the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) effect a full security in December 2014? The answer would be a qualified yes," said Lorimer, as Afghan troops battle the insurgents during the often violent summer months.

"They will emerge out of the fighting season confident and capable, and we will try to get them being sustainable as well into the future," he added.

"There is absolutely no comparison at all between the capability of the ANSF in 2007 and what they are now."

Pressure is increasing on Afghan and international leaders to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban to foster stability before the NATO troops depart, but early efforts to open negotiations failed in June.