An opportunity to get it right in Afghanistan

• Last Updated: April 05. 2009 9:30AM UAE / April 5. 2009 5:30AM GMT

Nato’s 60th anniversary celebrations and the historic re-integration of France into the alliance’s military hierarchy were overshadowed at yesterday’s summit by discussion on the emerging new plan for winning the war in Afghanistan. Central to the new strategy is an increase in troops and a renewed focus on recruiting and training Afghanistan’s security forces. After years of pleading with its European partners in Nato, the United States has resigned itself to shouldering the overwhelming majority of the military burden in Afghanistan: but the new division of responsibilities for the US’s partners in the country remains unclear.

While the United Kingdom has said that it will temporarily increase its military contribution, others who have shared the burden of combat operations will probably be withdrawing troops in the coming years. Instead, the US is seeking greater contributions for training and reconstruction efforts. This will disappoint many within the alliance, including the current secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who decry the increasing “Americanisation” of the efforts in Afghanistan.

Nevertheless, Americanisation will probably only increase as the US adopts an increasingly greater portion of direct efforts to combat the Taliban. Already, the majority of fighting is conducted by a handful of countries. Although 42 nations make up the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (Isaf), many have restrictive rules of engagement preventing them from undertaking offensive action. A new strategy must reduce the myriad restrictions on the remaining combat troops.

Additionally, the US must also streamline its own military efforts in Afghanistan. Currently US troops operate under the umbrella of several distinct combat operations, each with its own rules and objectives: Isaf, Operation Enduring Freedom and the wider global “war on terror”. The decreasing combat role of coalition partners within Isaf presents an opportunity to inject some sanity into the US command structure.

Afghanistan has never been nearer to collapse than at any point since the invasion in 2001. The upcoming presidential elections in June would be contentious enough without the additional threat from a resurgent Taliban, who conduct near daily attacks on the capital Kabul. Now is not the time to allow security efforts to lapse.

Additionally, reconstruction and training efforts must be streamlined and better governed by a central command and control entity. France and Germany have committed themselves to a greater role in training the understaffed, undertrained and underpaid Afghan police forces. Their past efforts have not met with much success as the police force suffers from rampant corruption and the highest casualty rates of any of the Afghan security forces. While Germany was originally in charge of the endeavours, most of the training is now conducted by the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan, a US dominated effort.

The opportunities for what Mr Obama termed “more effectively using the resources we have” must be seized. Undoubtedly, more troops are needed to combat the resurgent Taliban. Yet the overlapping of combat efforts and the poor management of reconstruction and training efforts must cease. Many nations within Isaf, including the UAE, have unique expertise to offer Afghanistan, but unless they are put to better use, then no amount of troops or dollars can save the country from collapse.