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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Afghan violence not the work of al-Qaeda |
| 2005-09-02 |
| US and allied intelligence agencies believe that the recent surge in violence in Afghanistan is not related to a reinvigorated offensive by the remnants of the al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgency but rather is the work of âdisparate elementsâ that are unconnected and uncoordinated. General James Jones, Nato's supreme commander who was in Afghanistan to gauge security ahead of this month's parliamentary elections, said intelligence briefings had led him to believe the rise in attacks was largely due to domestic issues rather than external anti-coalition forces. âThe reasons for the attacks are clearly disparate,â he told a small group of reporters travelling with him. âSome are religious fundamentalists, some are drug-related or narco-trafficking related, some just criminals. This is not a coordinated threat we think could lead to any greater insurrection.â The upsurge in violence has led to speculation that remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban elements, which continue to engage in cross-border raids from Pakistan's frontier provinces, have become bolder, more numerous or better trained. But while acknowledging that âit is sometimes difficult to figure out who exactly is conducting these attacksâ, Gen Jones, who was briefed by US and allied intelligence officials on Tuesday, said Afghan-based analysts have dismissed these theories, a finding he says he agrees with. The determination is a key one for Nato, due to expand its mission in Afghanistan to include the still unsettled south around the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar early next year. But Lieutenant General Mauro Del Vecchio, the Italian officer currently leading Nato's 10,000-troop International Security and Assistance Force in Afghanistan, said recent analyses by his staff had determined that the current level of violence, while alarming, mirrored a rash of attacks that occurred ahead of last year's presidential election, which eventually passed without serious incident. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |