Military

DATE=9/10/03

TYPE=DATELINE

NUMBER=7-37855

TITLE= AFGHAN SECURITY

BYLINE=PAT BODNAR

TELEPHONE=619-0720

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

EDITOR=NEAL LAVON

CONTENT=

DISK: DATELINE THEME [PLAYED IN STUDIO, FADED UNDER DATELINE HOST VOICE OR PROGRAMMING MATERIAL]

ANNCR: In Afghanistan, U.S. forces and their allies are engaged in "Operation Mountain Viper," where the latest offensive against remnants of the ousted Taleban is underway. As we hear in this Dateline report from Pat Bodnar, security in Afghanistan remains a significant problem.

PB: On May first, President Bush gave a nationally-broadcast speech aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln in which he said the major combat in Iraq had ended. He also went on to say that on his watch as Commander-in-Chief, the Taleban regime in Afghanistan was gone.

"We destroyed the Taleban, many terrorists, and the camps where they trained. We continue to help the Afghan people lay roads, restore hospitals, and educate all of their children. America and our coalition will finish what we have begun."

PB: It's been nearly two years since the U.S. launched a bombing campaign and special operations ground attack that ousted the Taleban government and its al-Qaida allies. But the serious lack of security remains one of the most pivotal issues facing the transitional government, headed by President Hamid Karzai.

Mr. Karzai survived an assassination attempt on his life last year. His vice president and tourism ministers were killed by opposition groups.

The capital, Kabul, has been secured by an international force of some 5,000 troops, known as ISAF. But outside Kabul, particularly in the south of the country, security is still a major problem.

Roy Gutman is a Senior Research Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace. Mr. Gutman just returned from an extensive trip to Afghanistan. He says southern Afghanistan is experiencing serious lawlessness and instability.

TAPE: CUT 2, GUTMAN, :15

"There's a concerted, an organized group that's attacking in a systematic way, that neither the government nor U.S. forces have figured out a way to cope with it."

PB: Mr. Gutman says remnants of the Taleban, backed by fighters loyal to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a renegade former prime minister and mujahadeen commander, continue to wage a guerrilla war against the internationally- backed government of President Karzai.

The insurgents have increased their attacks in recent weeks, killing dozens of people. The U-S led anti-terrorism coalition is hunting down these militants across war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Michael Ware is a Time Magazine correspondent. He has covered the Taleban extensively and says they are growing in strength.

TAPE: CUT 3, WARE: 1:36

"They are back, they are bold, they are becoming increasingly daring. They have reorganized, refinanced and re-armed. They have done this in safe-havens and sanctuaries inside Pakistan. They have done this with the assistance of certain interests and groups inside Pakistan. Twelve months ago when I visited Taleban figures and commanders inside Pakistan I had to be smuggled secretly in from Afghanistan to Pakistan using underground networks. In July I returned to meet with them. We met in the open without any fear, without harassment, without any surveillance by Pakistani authorities. The Taleban had stated to they had disbursed 12 months ago. Now in the Southern Pakistan cities of Quetta and border town of Cheman they are brazen. They are walking through the markets with their black and white turbans. Their graffiti is everywhere. Their propaganda and audio tapes are openly for sale. They have come to dominate a number of mosques. The feared madras's are now filling again with Taleban recruits."

PB: Afghan government officials allege that much of the new rebel activity is originating in bases in neighboring Pakistan, a charge Pakistani authorities have repeatedly denied.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan says the allegations are baseless, and that Pakistan is engaged in an intense campaign against the Taleban.

TAPE: CUT 4, KHAN, :21

"There is no regrouping of the Taleban on the Pakistani soil, absolutely none. Our assessment is that the backbone of the Taleban (in Pakistan) has been broken. They are in splinter groups and all efforts are being made not to allow them to regroup."

PB: But even still, the Pakistani spokesman says supporters of the hard-line Islamic Taleban are a "common problem" for both Pakistan and Afghanistan. He called for increased cooperation between the two neighboring countries to tackle the issue.

Dennis Kux, a retired Foreign Service South Asia Specialist, and Senior Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, agrees that over the last few months, the strength of the Taleban has been growing.

TAPE: CUT 5, KUX, :40

"The Taleban were a growing problem, but a relatively minor problem. That has changed dramatically over the past few months. For the first time, using the tribal areas of Pakistan they are moving across the border in big numbers. That means they are working with Hekmatyar, who is virulently anti-United States. That also means they are getting support, they're getting help, they're getting encouragement, one assumes from people in Pakistan, and maybe from the Pakistani Intelligence Service."

PB: The New York-based Council on Foreign Relations completed a report recently that discussed the critical security situation in Afghanistan. The study entitled, "Afghanistan: Are We Losing the Peace?", called "inadequate security" a major factor in the "painfully slow progress in reconstruction" in Afghanistan.

The Woodrow Wilson Center's Dennis Kux was one of the directors of the study. He says that as the longer-term job of national reconstruction gets underway in Afghanistan, the United States must make some decisions about security.

TAPE: CUT 6, KUX,:49

"Either the United States and coalition forces should change their mode of operation outside of Kabul, to be willing to step in to assume peacekeeping responsibilities. Or the United States should actively support the expansion of the international security force. That would require more people coming in largely from Europe but not entirely Europe. That would require an additional expense. But it didn't seem to us that money was the real problem. It seemed to us the real problem was that the U.S. didn't see this as a major objective. It seemed the U.S. was willing to let this situation drift."

PB: Time Magazine's Michael Ware puts it more bluntly, saying, in his opinion, "unless there is a massive increase in international peacekeeping troops, there is no hope for the fledgling Karzai government."

TAPE: CUT 7, WARE :24

"Karzai has very limited ability to project central government power beyond the capital Kabul. The rest of the country is divided among rival warlords. This has created a chaotic situation, particularly in the South, which has opened the door once again to the Taleban."

PB: President Bush has promised a massive reconstruction effort for Afghanistan, along the lines of the Marshall Plan in Europe after World War II. But the process of ensuring the peace through security is progressing slowly.

The Karzai government has expressed hope that NATO's assumption of international peacekeeping operations will mean those foreign patrols can expand outside Kabul. This would aid efforts to stabilize the areas largely controlled by state governors, or warlords. NATO has expressed interest in staying in Kabul beyond the UN mandated timetable of June 2004, but has no plans to expand its forces beyond Kabul. As security concerns remain, a loya jirga is planned for October of this year to create a constitution, and elections are scheduled for June of 2004. But there is still a great deal to be done before U.S. policy goals in Afghanistan are met. For Dateline, I'm Pat Bodnar.

MUSIC: BRING UP AFGHAN MUSIC 5:55