Afghan National Army soldiers train in Kabul September 21, 2008.(Ahmad Masood/Reuters)
Afghan National Security Forces Show Progress
-- U.S. Defense Department
-- U.S. Defense Department
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2008 – The mood of Afghan citizens has changed dramatically in the past year due to the progress the Afghan security forces have made, a senior military official said Oct. 24.
“I’ve seen a lot of progress here in the Afghan army and police,” Army Col. Bill Hix, commander of Afghan Regional Security Integration Command South, said to bloggers during a teleconference.
While the Afghan army has had about five years to develop, Hix said, the Afghan police didn’t really start to reform until last summer, when U.S. troops began to mentor them. Progress has been gained in the professionalism of the Afghan Security Forces but there are issues that need to be addressed, Hix said.
During the Sarposa prison break in June, Hix said, the Afghan government responded quickly, deploying more than 1,000 soldiers in less than 24 hours to combat the Taliban, but there were a number of problems. At that point, he said, Afghanistan’s army and police forces weren’t working as closely together as they are now.
For the past few weeks, the Taliban have been intimidating citizens to try to gain power in Helmand province.
“The fundamental difference between what is happening today in Helmand and what happened in Kandahar in June is that the army and police are operating as an integrated team,” Hix said. “In some cases, the police are fighting side by side with the army.”
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My Comment: Lets be realistic .... the Afghan Army will a decade or two before it becomes an effective and disciplined force .... and maybe even then it will not. Foreign forces will need to stay in Afghanistan for the few decades.