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| Afghanistan |
| European think tank sez coalition losing Helmand province |
| 2006-06-08 |
| A key province in southern Afghanistan is harbouring a fierce insurgency whose growing popularity, strength and territorial control threatens the entire country, according to a new study. The province of Helmand lies at the heart of Afghanistan's opium-growing belt, and falls under the responsibility of Brigadier-General David Fraser, the Canadian commander for international forces in the region. After six months of travel around Helmand, a team of 20 field researchers from the Senlis Council, a European think tank, concluded that the Taliban insurgents are gaining ground. That contradicts the message from top military officials, including Gen. Fraser, who recently told The Globe and Mail that the Taliban are increasingly challenged by government authorities. "It's getting really bad out there," said Emmanuel Reinert, the council's executive director. "The coalition would be better off to face the truth, rather than believing their own spin." About 900 people have been killed in Afghanistan this year, with fighting on the rise between Taliban and government forces. The situation is worst in the south, where the report says insurgent attacks have increased 600 per cent over the past six months. Two competing theories have emerged to explain the surge in violence. Military planners say they're pushing troops into Taliban strongholds, wresting control from the insurgents and provoking fights. But the Senlis Council supports the opposite view, that the foreign troops are losing popularity and influence as the Taliban fight to defend the illegal opium trade that serves as Afghanistan's largest industry. Among the council's many interviews with teachers, farmers, government officials and other ordinary Afghans, Mr. Reinert said one encounter stood out. It was a comment that may explain why the perception of success in southern Afghanistan is so different inside the military, he said. "One local man said, 'We tell the invaders what they want to hear, but afterward we will kill them,' " Mr. Reinert said. None of Helmand's 13 districts are fully controlled by the government, the report concludes. Central authority prevails during the daylight hours in Laskhar Gah, the provincial capital, but control is uncertain in 10 districts as insurgents clash with government forces. Three northern districts are entirely controlled by insurgents. Britain is sending 3,300 troops to Helmand this summer. A British military official recently expressed the hope that the province's farmers won't make the connection between an influx of foreign troops in support of the government and an increase in state-funded poppy-eradication programs. But the Senlis report suggests that poppy farmers know their illegal trade is threatened by the foreigners. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #6 dont know who these guys are. The assertions that coalition military is acting aggressively in the province, and that lots of locals hate the coalition (and the Kharzai govt) are not necessarily in contradiction. It would certainly make sense to provide economic reconstruction aid at the same time we eradicate poppies. If we cant manage to speed up the aid, it might make sense to slow the poppie eradication. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2006-06-08 13:19 |
| #5 They'll have their jones on for a while, but once they link up with their supplier they won't feel a thing. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-06-08 12:57 |
| #4 Scanning the website, Senlis Council seems to be a pro opium legalization group. In their view, the right thing to do is to run away and regulate poppy production. Senlis does not explain how they plan to enforce regulation if poppy production comes under the control of islamists who want to destroy western civilization. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-06-08 12:43 |
| #3 Nice to know the propoganda wing of the ISI monitors Rantburg. |
| Posted by: Fordesque 2006-06-08 12:07 |
| #2 Supporting the Taliban show's what a desperate situation the people there are in. Any sign that the west is improving things? No. |
| Posted by: Doogl comments 2006-06-08 05:52 |
| #1 "...poppy farmers know their illegal trade is threatened by the foreigners" Bing Bong! this is key "illegal trade". We should kill every grower of this poison I don't care if they are "just doing it to feed their wife and kids" most of this stuff ends up in Eastern and Western Europe. It's not 'muslims" taking it. "Is this your poppy field" Bang. How hard it that? Smack funds jihad. Kill the bastards. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2006-06-08 01:39 |