The story of US war on terrorism in Afghanistan has become more interested while hosts started killings their foreign guests. This is now the war between guards and the guardians. The recent green on blue attacks further caused misunderstanding, which the US and the NATO allies never anticipated. They are in trouble how to counter this invisible force within the ANA. The ISAF spokesperson recently warned that the threat of green on blue attack has been constant, and the growing frequency of these attacks is alarming. There are many reasons Afghan soldiers target foreign partners but the urination on dead bodies, raiding houses in night and the killing of innocent women and children are salient. The crisis is going deep and the possibility of war within cannot be ruled out. A US war veteran and a lawmaker, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a marine, has recently demanded the armed services committee to make a closer look at the growing number of these attacks.
Duncan Hunter, a member of the armed services committee has also demanded the Pentagon to brief lawmakers on this issue. These attacks have reached an epidemic proportion. Western analysts say something is wrong with the battlefield relationship between ANA and foreign forces. President Obama said in a White House meeting, “Obviously we’ve been watching with deep concern these attacks.” Senior police officers like General Muhammad Zaman say attacks are simply a product of a violent society because no one is safe and every one gets killed. It is reasonable to worry about these attacks and to worry about the future of security transition as well. US military deaths have reached 2,091, according to the figure issued by the US Department of Defence. The increase in these attacks against foreign forces has raised concern about the US and the allies that train ANA soldiers. The Long War Journal reported the attacks by Afghan forces surged and according to US military sources, the coalition casualties are now 13 percent while in 2011 it was only six percent.
Coalition forces in Afghanistan feel more threatened by the Afghan National Army than the Taliban, as Afghan army has established close contacts with Taliban networks for more attacks to compel them for immediate withdrawal. Commanders of ANA provide arms and military information including counter-insurgency strategies to Taliban. They even kill their coalition partners in battlefield. ISAF Commander General Allen does not really know about the causes of these attacks. These attacks are similar to the epidemic of military suicides. General Allen understands there is not enough data about the insider attacks but says the reason for these attacks is complex. In his recent media briefing, ISAF Commander Gen Allen provided a new perspective about the insider killings of the US forces. NATO and ISAF understand that elements in Pakistan army are behind these attacks and want to crush the ‘bad guys’’ networks across the border. In his recent report, Pakistani defence analyst, Zahid Hamid has warned, “The US is now well and truly aggressive to provoke more war within Pakistan and to force the Pak army to into a head-on collision with the tribe in North Waziristan and against Afghan resistance.”
The recent news reports about the drug smuggling of Afghan Air Force are too irksome. On March 12, 2012, the US Today reported Afghan officials denying the air force planes involvement in drug and weapon smuggling, but the Wall Street Journal confirmed an investigation of the NATO-led forces about this case. According to military experts in Afghanistan, all these weapons being Afghans, they want a genuine and legitimate role of the ANA in state defence and counter-insurgency. If the NATO and the US do not rely on the ANA, fail to train it properly, and give more importance and funds to private armies of warlords, then what is the strategic role of the ANA, it must be defined. The answer is negative but one thing is clear, the ANA does not support the way NATO and the US are tackling the insurgency in the country. Majority of Afghans see the military presence of NATO and the US as the main reason behind their problems of poverty, illiteracy and disease. The NATO, the UN and the US have not been able to bring peace and stability, and rebuild the country since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
As there have been concerns about the capability of Afghan security forces to take on the responsibilities of security of entire nation, at the same time there are serious concerns about financing the forces without enough financial support the security forces will not be able to overpower the foes. After the withdrawal of international security forces and disengagement of international allies, there will be notable decline in the financial aid that is being used to keep the Afghan security forces functional. As the country is not economically stable to generate the funds for its security forces it would seek the assistance of international community in this regard.
According to an Afghan weapons’ smuggler, weapons are being smuggled into Northern Provinces from Tajikistan. Smuggling routes are difficult therefore, smugglers use horses. Light weapons are being smuggled at day while heavy ones at night. The deputy director of Afghan intelligence in Baghlan city acknowledged the involvement of war criminals and ethnic leaders in this business. Talking to journalists, the NDS local chief said that they were powerful people and nobody could stop them. They maintain the security of smuggled weapons and routes through their criminal militias. As these smugglers have business relations with the commanders of border police, therefore, they always use the police vehicles across the country. A problem that emerged abruptly undermined the trust between the Afghan National Army and International Coalition forces in Afghanistan. In the past year, NATO and Afghan commanders were closer but after the Pajwai killings, ANA turned its weapons on its enemy.
The writer is author of Policing in Multicultural Britain can be reached at [email protected]