Defense Technology International - July 2007 - (Page 14)

DISPATCHES GLOBAL DEFINING OBJECTIVES Taliban and European politics challenge NATO mission in Afghanistan JORIS JANSSEN LOK•BRUSSELS AND BERLIN fghanistan has become a proving ground for NATO’s evolving role as an expeditionary paciﬁcation and crisis-management organization. The alliance is leading the 40,500-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) that supports the Karzai government’s nation-building and democratization efforts in the face of mounting attacks by a complex mix of militant forces. NATO commanders in the ﬁeld, and senior ofﬁcers at headquarters in Brussels, say the organization walks a thin line in fulfilling its mandate in Afghanistan. Commanders must adapt to changing situations and lethal threats while adhering to political dictates governing the use of troops—and force—by participating countries. NATO’s ability to strike a balance between these occasionally contentious needs will inﬂuence its success in stabilization and reconstruction efforts in war-torn areas for years to come. NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan started in 2002 with the establishment of ISAF in Kabul. It has since expanded in four stages, to the north in October 2004, the west in May 2005, the south in July 2006 and the east in October 2006, taking over from U.S.-led coalition forces that were part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Since then, NATO has had responsibility for security assistance and reconstruction in the whole of the country. In the last 12 months, ISAF has grown to support its extended mission. ISAF now includes 39,000 directly assigned troops from NATO nations plus 1,500 from partner nations (Australia being the most prominent). In addition, 5,600 personnel from NATO nations serve as part of the national contingent commands (see related story, p. 26). AUSTRALIAN DEFENSE DEPT. A The U.S. is by far the largest contributor to ISAF with 16,700 troops. The U.K. and Germany are second and third with 6,500 and 3,000, respectively. U.S. inﬂuence is also strong at the level of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT). These are Reconstruction is a major mission for ISAF in its efforts to win the “hearts and minds” of civilians. Australian troops in Uruzgan province work on enlarging a building. ISAF’s primary instruments in support of local authorities and residents. In addition to ISAF troops, the U.S. and its coalition partners have 8,000 personnel in Afghanistan who are OEF assets. A complex command-and-control structure has been built to coordinate and deconﬂict ISAF and OEF operations. Deconﬂiction, a relatively recent term, is the ability to organize different units or operations to avoid interference and conﬂicts. Operations involving ISAF and OEF forces are politically sensitive because many European nations with forces in Afghanistan have a national mandate to support ISAF but not OEF except in emergencies. The ISAF-OEF deconfliction process is helped by the fact that the commander of ISAF is presently an American, Army Gen. Dan McNeill, as is the deputy commander for security, Army Brig. Gen. Bernard Champoux. Moreover, ISAF’s Regional Commander East, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, is double-hatted as commander of Combined Joint Task Force 82 at Bagram AB, which runs OEF operations in Afghanistan. Subordinate to Rodriguez is the U.S.-led Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, which is responsible for special forces operations in the country. Despite the U.S. presence, European ISAF ofﬁcers believe strongly that “NATO, not OEF, owns the battlespace here,” says a senior military source from ISAF. “We have the option to veto an OEF action if we think it is counterproductive to ISAF objectives.” The difference between how ISAF and OEF operate, however, is not as obvious as a year ago, senior NATO military sources say. On one hand, U.S. forces in OEF have reﬁned their concept of operations so that it is now “fully in synch” with NATO’s so-called Comprehensive Approach. That aims to combine military efforts with reconstruction and development activities by nonmilitary organizations. ISAF presently works with the government of Afghanistan and its 34 provinces and governors, the U.N. www.aviationweek.com/dti 14 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL JULY/AUGUST 2007 http://www.aviationweek.com/dti

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Defense Technology International - July 2007

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