Afghanistan needs time, ambassador says
"The departing American ambassador to Afghanistan, Ronald E. Neumann, said Monday that he did not see the Taliban as the big threat it appeared to represent a year or two ago, and that he was leaving feeling 'reasonably optimistic' about the state of the insurgency and the country’s progress.
. . . The ambassador said that the Afghan Army, which initially had been envisioned as a light force reliant on American allies, was being strengthened, with a goal of building it to 70,000 troops, and that it was being supplied with armored vehicles, aircraft and body armor.
The program to develop a police entity was two years behind that of the army, he said, but current plans also call for more support for the police.
. . . Mr. Neumann said people in Afghanistan and abroad should understand that it would take considerable time to see results in the country. It had taken four years to set up a military justice system for the Afghan National Army — from drafting the law to training legal personnel — before the army could hold its first court-martial, he said. Plans to train a civilian judiciary are proceeding, but the effects will not be felt on the ground even in a year’s time, he said."
source
Gall, Carlotta. (The New York Times). U.S. Diplomat ‘Optimistic’ About Afghanistan. March 13, 2007.
posted: wednesday, march 14, 2007, 9:09 PM ET
tags: afghanistan
. . . The ambassador said that the Afghan Army, which initially had been envisioned as a light force reliant on American allies, was being strengthened, with a goal of building it to 70,000 troops, and that it was being supplied with armored vehicles, aircraft and body armor.
The program to develop a police entity was two years behind that of the army, he said, but current plans also call for more support for the police.
. . . Mr. Neumann said people in Afghanistan and abroad should understand that it would take considerable time to see results in the country. It had taken four years to set up a military justice system for the Afghan National Army — from drafting the law to training legal personnel — before the army could hold its first court-martial, he said. Plans to train a civilian judiciary are proceeding, but the effects will not be felt on the ground even in a year’s time, he said."
source
Gall, Carlotta. (The New York Times). U.S. Diplomat ‘Optimistic’ About Afghanistan. March 13, 2007.
posted: wednesday, march 14, 2007, 9:09 PM ET
tags: afghanistan
Labels: afghanistan
posted by eric at 7:50 PM
2 Comments:
I find this to be quite funny. I am a soldier of the U.S. Army currently serving in regional command east just south of the capital. I doubt I am the first soldier to utter these words but I will certainly not be the last. MISSION FAILED. I see millions of our dollars being carelessly flushed away on nothing. The afghan army is so limited. They are far from capable of conducting there own legitimate missions. Am I to believe it cost billions of dollars so that they could perform their first court marshal? Please. I wonder how much it will cost for the police to actually arrest someone. Thats right. I have been here for over a year and have yet to see, hear or read of any afghan national police, ANP, arrest anyone. It is not surprising. They are all corrupt anyway. They all smoke hash and do opium and smuggle all sorts of goods and taliban through the border. Do not let the U.S. FOOL you. This is just the beginning of what we will see in the future. If my IP has been logged with this post, I ask that you please remove it for my safety.
As long as the Afghan people are still trying, it still seems like a worthwhile mission to me.
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