ANP and more - an Afghan interview
Not sure of the interviewee's background and this is supplied in the opening:
Quote:
Lieutenant General Abdul Hadi Khalid was the Afghan first deputy minister of the interior for security from May 2006 to late June 2008. Specializing in counter-narcotics, border policing and internal security, he announced the largest drug seizure in history.
He lost his post after a dispute with President Hamid Karzai's administration last year, but remains one of Afghanistan's leading thinkers on regional ethno-political dynamics and transnational criminal networks.
Interview covers more than the ANP and is most interesting on relatiosn with Afghanistan's neighbours: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KI23Df02.html . Note this appeared first two weeks ago on the Jamestown website.
davidbfpo
Cross posting for reference
Posted on another OEF thread: A variety of links and some will be cross-posted on other threads i.e. ANA & ANP. Not in order of priority.
1) Britain calls for mini-surge in Afghanistan to help train army. Of note is the claim the UK can deploy only 3k of the 9k troops in Helmand and that the ANA now have 8k deployed in Helmand (which I simply find incredible) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6851607.ece
2) http://www.captainsjournal.com/ has some amazing reports on the ANA and ANP. This is the longest, citing many sources (many on SWC I'm sure) and covers both the ANA and ANP: http://www.captainsjournal.com/2009/...national-army/
3) A Canadian OMLT veteran (from Kandahar Province) on the ANA, including literacy, training and more: http://www.snappingturtle.net/flit/
davidbfpo
The price of working with the ANP
The BBC News reports:
Quote:
Five British soldiers have been shot dead in Helmand Province, in an attack the UK military blamed on a "rogue" Afghan policeman.
And a comment from an ex-UK commander:
Quote:
It will undermine trust, certainly in the short term, until we establish exactly what happened. And it wouldn't at all surprise me now if there aren't a lot of soldiers, British soldiers in Afghanistan, with their fingers very firmly on the trigger when they're around Afghan police and military.
See:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8341659.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8341825.stm
Not good news for Afghanisation and training the Afghans.
davidbfpo
ANP police officer kills five UK soldier
A few more details in follow-up reporting, notably the attack was within a compound: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...-strategy.html
Commentary and links on:http://defenceoftherealm.blogspot.co...11/murder.html
davidbfpo
A scathing indictment ....
is this article in the Independent, 'Most of them were corrupt and stoned on opium':
Quote:
'Most of them were corrupt and stoned on opium'
A senior serving soldier reveals how the Afghan policemen in Helmand are often a danger to the British forces they work with
Thursday, 5 November 2009
When I heard the news this morning, I thought "Christ, five in one go..." I was shocked and saddened – but I was not surprised that it had happened. I'm surprised it took this long.
We went out to Helmand to mentor the Afghan National Police without understanding the level they were at. We thought we would be arresting people, helping them to police efficiently. Instead we were literally training them how to point a gun on the ranges, and telling them why you should not stop cars and demand "taxes".
Most of them were corrupt and took drugs, particularly opium. The lads would go into police stations at night and they would be stoned; sometimes they would fire indiscriminately at nothing.
I particularly interested in this comment:
Quote:
The Afghan army are a lot more switched on. They have started to stand up for themselves. But the police have not had the same investment. There is no point in pushing the army through to clear ground if you leave a void behind with the police.
The primary problem in Astan is not military, but that of civil administration (part of the political effort, which is near FUBAR).
Uncheerful
Mike
A new local Afghan Police?
This morning's BBC Radio 'Today' programme had an interview with two-star General Nick Carter, the regional ISAF (South) commander, in Kandahar, and whilst a few papers have picked up a comment on it was safer to use the roads under the Taliban; see: http://www.defencemanagement.com/new...y.asp?id=11503.
I noticed this in response to the interviewer's comment on the appalling reputation of the ANP, when he challenges the General - will the people put their faith in the ANP?
Quote:
The challenge we have is to create a local, Pashtun police force (my bold), that is as respected as the army (ANA). Ultimately it will be a local police force that makes the population feel secure...
From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today...00/8392231.stm and there is a short recorded interview. His bio is: http://www.nato.int/isaf/structure/bio/rc_s/carter.html
Yes, that will be a challenge and where will the Afghans who want to serve in this way come from? Or do I see warlord militias in uniform soon?
Mainly ANP & lessons learnt
A long article by Nir Rose, not a writer I am familiar with: http://www.bostonreview.net/BR35.1/rosen.php Somewhat dated as incidents were in July 2009, but ample illustrations of the issues we are aware of.
Nir Rosen appears in threads on occasion
Here's one: LINK. A search will turn up a couple of others.
With police like this, what more do you need to win?
Hat tip to an article by Christina Lamb in 'The Spectator', in a scathing IMHO review of the UK presence in Afghanistan.
Link: http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/al...-targets.thtml
Amidst was this illustration of how the ANP behave:
Quote:
A recent report from the (US) Institute of War details how British forces took the district of Nad Ali last year, losing a number of soldiers. They then handed control over to the Afghan police, who set about raping young boys. Eventually the people got so fed up that they asked the Taleban to come back to protect them.
The citation comes from a report by a US think tank and a slightly fuller account:
Quote:
The Afghan Police did not maintain a significant presence in the area (Nad Ali). Those who were present prior to September 2008 were distrusted by the local population. According to villagers in the area, “the government’s police force was so brutal and corrupt that they welcomed the Taliban as liberators.” According to accounts from local villagers, the ANP’s exploits included beatings, robbery and rape. Locals stated that police would practice “bachabazi” (sex with pre-pubescent boys); “if the boys were out in the fields, the police would come by and rape them… you can go to any police base and you will see these boys. They hold them until they are finished with them and then let the child go.
Link:http://www.understandingwar.org/file...HelmandPDF.pdf
I put this account recently to a UK Minister at a talk 'Why are we in Afghanistan' and it caused him to pause.
The think tank has several others reports on the war, a more recent one is on Kandahar and the ANSF. Note the founder is Kimberley Kagan, a name that has appeared on SWC before.