Security Council extends international mandate in Afghanistan; calls for training of ‘self-sufficient’ security forces

World’s governing body quietly prolongs longest war in United States history for 12 more months

By Alexander Hull
 

NEW YORK- October 12, 2011- The UN Security Council unanimously voted to extend the authorization of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan for another 12 months Wednesday.

It’s been less than a week since ISAF forces completed the 10th year of operations in Afghanistan, and barring an unexpected change in military policy, the war will most likely last through 2014, as today’s Security Council resolution reiterated its commitment to “gradually transfer lead security responsibility to the Afghan Government country-wide by the end of 2014.”

The resolution balanced concerns about Afghanistan's political stability with hope for continued progress on nation-building projects. A rise in civilian casualties and the assassination of Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, former Chairman of the Afghanistan High Peace Council, merited specific mention, while the need for “further efforts by the Afghan Government to fight corruption, promote transparency and increase its accountability" was also noted.

But overall the resolution was decidedly optimistic. An “increasing number” of Taliban members have “rejected the terrorist ideology of Al-Qaida and its followers” and the Afghan Government has done much to to address drug production and trafficking.

The resolution ended with a call for a transition of power:

It “stressed the importance of increasing, in a comprehensive framework, the functionality, professionalism and accountability of the Afghan security sector,[and] encouraged ISAF and other partners to sustain their efforts, as resources permit, to train, mentor and empower the Afghan national security forces, in order to accelerate progress toward the goal of self-sufficient, sustainable, accountable and ethnically balanced security forces.”

ISAF military expenditures increased last year, but as countries continue to draw down troops (Canada has promised to withdraw all of its troops by the end of 2012), the burden of maintaining peace in the country will slowly shift to indigenous Afghan security forces.

The United States will spend $444 billion in Afghanistan in 2011, according to a Congressional Research Service report from March 2011.

Speaking in Kabul Monday, ISAF spokesman General Carsten Jacobson discussed Aghanistan's recent advances in health care and education.

“Under Taliban rule, only 1.2 million students were enrolled in schools, with less than 50,000 of them girls. Today, under the government of Afghanistan, there are 7 million students, of which nearly 37 percent – or 2.6 million – are girls,” Jacobson said. “Under Taliban rule, healthcare was almost non-existent. Today, advances in healthcare have contributed to a 22 percent drop in infant deaths and a doubling of immunization coverage.”

“Just think we have three more years to go. We were able to make great strides in just this year alone; one can just imagine where we will be with three more years to grow, train and mentor the Afghan Security Forces.”

ISAF reports that there are 130,670 active troops in Afghanistan, 90,000 of which are from the United States.

The United Kingdom contributes the second largest amount, at 9,500 troops, while Germany, Italy and France each contribute less than 5,000. In total, 49 separate countries contributed troops in 2010 and 2011.

Alexander Hull