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U.S. plans to expand role of securing Afghanistan
©Washington Post KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Bush administration, concerned about the growing violence among regional Afghan commanders, is planning to step up the U.S. security role here, possibly by seeking an expansion of the international peacekeeping force or even sending U.S. military advisers to trouble spots. Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington's special envoy to Afghanistan, told journalists Sunday that because of threats from "multiple armies" in Afghan provinces, the administration was weighing measures to increase and speed up security assistance to the interim government led by Hamid Karzai. Khalilzad said the options included the "possible expansion" of the 4,500-member multinational peacekeeping force that now patrols Kabul, the placing of U.S. military advisers in areas of "potential conflict," and expediting U.S. aid and training for an Afghan national army. Until now, Washington has restricted its security role to about 3,000 U.S. troops based near the southern city of Kandahar and a limited deployment of Special Forces, who assist Afghan troops in hunting down suspected Taliban and al-Qaida fighters. But Khalilzad's comments, made after two days of meetings with Karzai and officials working on Afghanistan's democratic transition, indicated that Washington now shared Karzai's concern about threats from regional commanders and was prepared to take substantial action. In recent weeks, armed clashes have been reported among rival militia and tribal leaders in two provinces, and some warlords are believed to be spreading money and weapons to sabotage the loya jirga, a national conclave scheduled for June in which participants will choose a new transitional government. Karzai has repeatedly asked that the multinational peacekeeping force be enlarged and that its role be expanded across the country. Rural inhabitants have begged the government to disarm their areas and provide security during the loya jirga process. So far, however, the 11 countries contributing to the peacekeeping force have resisted these requests. Khalilzad said the United States still had no intention of joining the British-led peacekeeping force, but Washington might ask the member countries to contribute more troops and expand their activities beyond the capital to regions threatened by violence. "We have not ruled that out at all," he said. "Mr. Karzai has asked us, and people have asked him, for the (peacekeeping forces) to be extended and expanded." If local militia leaders decide to make trouble, he said, "there are not enough national forces available to stop them. My fear is that ... because of mistrust or miscalculation, they might do things that lead to war. We want to help lower the chance that miscalculations could lead to conflict." A British spokesman for the peacekeepers said he was "completely unaware" of any request from Washington to consider expanding the force's numbers or role. He said the force remained limited to patrolling the Kabul area and assisting local police under an agreement stemming from a U.N.-sponsored conference in Bonn in December. "The ongoing debate about the expansion of the force remains very much in the political arena," said the spokesman, Jonathan Turner. "We are still operating under the Bonn agreement, and any change would be up to a new agreement between the international community and the Afghan government." Khalilzad described the overall situation in Afghanistan as "positive" and "qualitatively better" than in the past. "The interim authorities seem to have their act together, but they need continuing help to deal with the challenges, and the major challenge is how to prevent a return to warlordism and conflict," he said. Khalilzad said the options being considered in Washington were not mutually exclusive and that different tactics could be deployed in various parts of the country. International peacekeepers could be stationed in some regions, for example, and U.S. military advisers could work with Afghan troops in others. "The U.S. has done a lot and is doing a lot regarding Afghan security," he said. "The question is should we do more, and we are now looking at various options." While the United States does not want Afghanistan to become a "security welfare state," he said, "we are committed to helping." The United States has pledged to assist the formation of a new Afghan national army, which Afghan leaders hope will ultimately replace groups of regional gunmen loyal to individual militia leaders with a unified and disciplined force that responds to a single central command. But Khalilzad said that fears of violence may require Washington to speed up its assistance in training and equipping the new army, which is recruiting members from across the country. The first recruits began training last week under the tutelage of the international peacekeeping force. U.S. military officials here have said the first battalion of 3,000 to 4,000 men might be trained by this summer, but that it would take at least two years to establish a full-fledged national defense force. In other developments: German special forces are helping U.S. troops hunt down al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan, Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping said in an interview with Bild newspaper. The German troops "are being put into action together with soldiers of our allies," Scharping was quoted as saying, confirming the country's boldest military operation on the ground since World War II. Already stretched by its commitment in Afghanistan, the U.S. military nonetheless is ready to act if President Bush decides to use force against Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "The United States military is ready for anything our commander in chief asks us to do," Gen. Richard Myers said on ABC's This Week. -- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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