Karsai Applauds ISAF Expansion

Two years after the U.S. bombing raid on Afghanistan and the toppling of the Taliban regime, Afghanistan still has a long way to go before it can stand on its own feet without relying on international aid. President Hamid Karsai sees the future with optimism, but admits it will be a hard road to self-sufficiency. In the meantime the war-torn country is dependent on support from humanitarian aid organizations, governmental reconstruction teams, and the continuing presence of international peacekeeping troops.

Although streets are being cleared, the infrastructure is getting rebuilt and a constitution and free elections are underway, Karsai admits to his country’s reliance on outside help to achieve such goals. Without such help, especially the expansion of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) beyond the capital Kabul, much of Afghanistan would fall back into chaos and civil war, Karsai told the German public radio station ARD in Kabul.

"I would like to see the ISAF in regions of the country where security is not a given for the normal Afghan population. Whether because of terrorist activities or instability through factious fighting, we need the expansion of the ISAF," Karsai says.

And for this reason he "welcomes the decision by NATO to expand the troops’ presence." The Afghan people will support it, he says.

Cautious expansion of security forces

After NATO on Oct. 7 approved stationing ISAF soldiers outside of the safe confines of Kabul, the decision needs to go before the UN Security Council and be approved by each of the national parliaments participating in the international peacekeeping force. The first area of focus for the new mandate will then be Kunduz, the most important city in the north east.

Germany has already announced its intent to send peacekeepers to the region. Between 230 and 450 Bundeswehr soldiers are scheduled to be deployed in Kunduz by the end of the year.

But many critics of the ISAF expansion plan and aid organizations have voiced concern that sending peacekeepers to regions of relative security such as Kunduz, does little in the way of maintaining peace in Afghanistan’s largely unstable rural regions, where roaming bands of terrorists and local war lords resort to sheer force to implement their rule.

Karsai is not open to such criticism. He argues that the foreign security presence is needed everywhere and Kunduz is a good start. "Kunduz is an important part of Afghanistan. From there, reconstruction teams can spread out into the provinces. That’s why we support the German decision to star in the city," he says.

"Germany has always supported Afghanistan and now they are contributing significantly to maintaining security and helping rebuild the country," the president says.

Continuing terror threat

While Karsai has pressed hard for the international community to expand the scope of ISAF, terrorists have begun increasing their activities, especially those crossing the border from Pakistan. They pose the biggest threat to peace in the still fragile country.

"The rest of the world, the United States, Germany, Japan and the United Nations must work with us to stop these terrorists. There’s no other way. They are a threat for us all," says the concerned president.

But terrorists are just one of the problems Afghanistan struggles with. Fighting among armed militias poses a considerable threat to security and are a danger to Karsai’s central government. Just last week one of the bloodiest fights broke out between two generals in the north near Masar-i-Shariff. Both Raschid Dostum and Atta Mohammed support the official Kabul government, but have battled for control of the northern provinces. Only through pressure from the central government was it possible to achieve a momentary cease fire.

"We will do everything we can, to stop such fights from breaking out – through the decision to call for a disarmament to the removal of weapons from the region and even to the demotion of officials," Karsai explains, despite knowing that such tough government tactics can lead to retaliation against his office.

But the president is intent on expanding his rule over the land, from Kabul into the furthest province. And he makes unmistakably clear that the only way this can be achieved is through years of international support: military, political and financial.