Focus Kabul:Major Gathering of Leaders Discuss New Afghanistan Strategy - context and cost

Several important figures met in Kabul,Afghanistan on 27 September to go over the new Afghanistan strategy,which is now seen as part of President Donald Trump's South Asia strategy including Pakistan and India as well as Afghanistan.General John Nicholson,commander of all NATO and US forces in Afghanistan,welcomed NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg;US Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison;and US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to Kabul for the high level discussions with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr.Abdullah Abdullah,as well as other Afghan national security officials.
A news conference was held with President Ghani,Mr.Stoltenberg and Mr.Mattis following the talks,which went on despite a rocket attack on Kabul International Airport claimed by both the Taliban and ISIL-K militants.Several civilians were reportedly injured in the attack.*
Mr.Stoltenberg told the reporters that:
About 13,000 troops from 39 different countries serve in our Resolute Support Mission.Around half are US troops,with the rest coming from European Allies and our partner nations.
Much progress has been made,but there is still too much violence,too much instability and still too much corruption.
NATO's presence in Afghanistan has come at a great cost-a human cost.Hundreds of thousands of brave men and women have served under the NATO flag.Thousands have lost their lives,and many more have suffered visible and invisible wounds.
There is also a financial cost.The international community has spent billions sustaining our presence,and in support of the Afghan forces.
So we know the cost of staying in Afghanistan;but the cost of leaving would be even higher.If NATO forces leave too soon,there is a risk that Afghanistan may return to a state of chaos and become once more a safe haven for international terrorism.The last time that happened,it lead to the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the US,in which almost 3,000 people were murdered.We cannot allow that to happen again.
NATO leaving would also risk further instability in the region,including refugees fleeing for the safety of Europe.
NATO doesn't quit when the going gets tough.That is why I much welcome that many nations have pledged further contributions to our mission here in Afghanistan,including more troops from the US.And I welcome President Trump's new conditions-based approach to Afghanistan and the region.
NATO is committed to funding the Afghan security forces until at least 2020,and we will continue to provide almost a billion each year to the Afghan defence and security forces.*
Defense Secretary Mattis has signed orders to deploy about 3,000 more US troops to train,advise and assist Afghan forces.They are either on the way or have at least been notified,he told reporters.That will bring the US total to about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan.*
We will not abandon Afghanistan to a merciless enemy trying to kill its way to power,Mr.Mattis said at the news conference.
This new strategy is conditions-based and not time-based;because war is principally a matter of will,and we've made clear that we have the will to stand together.Through our partnership,we will suffocate any hope that al-Qaida,or ISIS-Daesh,Haqqani or the Taliban have of winning by killing.
This South Asia strategy and this renewed commitment is an opportunity for Pakistan to engage in the counterterror campaign.*
President Ghani noted India's generosity in pledging a billion dollars of aid to Afghanistan.*
Asked about the Russian and Iranian role in supplying weapons to the Taliban,Mr.Mattis said he's not willing to discuss the specifics at this time on those two countries.*
Added Mr.Stoltenberg:
At our defence ministerial meeting in June,we actually decided to increase our NATO troop levels in Afghanistan,and several Allies have already started to step up to their pledges to send more troops.So they are sending more troops to Afghanistan because it is in their interest to have a more stable Afghanistan.*
Reflecting on history,Mr.Mattis recalled that when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in late 1979,it upended the society,disrupting tribal alliances and so forth.It opened the door to Iaslamist extremist groups setting up in the country and is what ultimately led us to where we are at this point.*

ISIL Stages Barbaric Attack in Afghan Capital Kabul

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The Afghan War:Taliban Still Raiding Provincial Capitals

Fifteen years after they were toppled from power in Afghanistan by US troops and their tribal allies,the Taliban militants,who facilitated the 9-11 attacks by harbouring al-Qaida terrorists, began an assault on Lashkar Gah,capital of Helmand Province in the country's south,early Monday morning with a car bombing that killed ten policemen and wounded four others.Afghan National Defence and Security Forces repulsed the raid,the Defence Ministry said,but more than 300 ANDSF commandos had to be deployed from Kabul and neighbouring provinces to mount a clearance operation in the oft-contested city where more than 100 US troops were specially deployed themselves in August to help prevent,or at least reverse,just such an occurrence.*
US enablers are in the area and will support as needed,a NATO spokesman said.Yesterday there were two airstrikes in Helmand.Both of those were in support of ANDSF.*
We have enough forces on the ground now,added Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish.Afghan Air Force and NATO's air support is also helping our forces.*
The Taliban have spent the current fighting season attacking a number of provincial capitals besides Lashkar Gah:Kunduz and Baghlan in the north;and Farah in the west as well.When finally driven out of a city,the Islamist extremists typically counterattack.In Kunduz,for example,the Taliban briefly controlled the city last year,but were driven away by ANDSF and NATO,only to lay siege to the city again-and again be forced out-a year later.On Tuesday,they also counterattacked in Farah and heavy clashes erupted.*
A number of Taliban raids have been focused on Lashkar Gah in the lead-up to Monday's foray.Roads from neighbouring districts have been heavily mined by the militants,who have full or at least effective control of nearly all of Helmand's 14 districts.*
Besides the Taliban,other Islamist extremists such as al-Qaida remnants and even the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant,or ISIL,have to be combatted from time to time in the mountainous nation.

Afghan War Strategy:Building on Success with Greater Flexibility

On the third leg of his major overseas trip,US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter met in Kabul,Afghanistan with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr.Abdullah Abdullah yesterday 12 July,as well as the Afghan defence and interior ministers.Dr.Carter had previously attended the NATO Warsaw Summit and secretly traveled to Baghdad,Iraq on 11 July.
In a Kabul news conference,Dr.Carter said he and the Afghan leaders discussed:
1.the US commitments to enhance the authorities of our ground commanders;
2.maintain our financial commitment to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces;and
3.retain a more substantial US force presence of 8400 troops into 2017 as they continue their twofold mission against the Taliban and other Islamist extremist militants of training,advising and assisting the ANDSF,along with counterterrorism support.*
The meetings reaffirmed to me that we have strong partners here,with a common vision focused on a secure and prosperous future for the Afghan people,Dr.Carter noted.At the Warsaw Summit,coalition partners confirmed their commitment of financial sustainment to the ANDSF and of the Resolute Support Mission.Carter commended the ANDSF for fighting courageously last year during a tough fighting season and for their continued dedication in the face of formidable challenges this year.We are looking to build on their successes to find ways to support and enable them more effectively,he added.He and commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General John Nicholson,US Army,discussed President Barack Obama's decision to grant additional flexibility in the use of U.S. forces.This added flexibility,coupled with new integration of the A-29 and MD-530 close air support platforms,reflects our determination to seize every opportunity possible to use our resources in the theatre to the greatest possible effectiveness.*
We're with you.We stand by you and we will continue to work hard together to finish the mission we started,Dr.Carter assured the Afghan people.He thanked the American,NATO and Afghan troops who have served and sacrificed together over the past 15 years in the name of peace,security and freedom,and who continue that mission today.*
The Embraer A-29 Super Tucano Ground Attack aircraft was selected by the US Air Force for its Light Air Support Program in 2013,with the immediate intent of supplying it to Afghanistan,and then to other US allies.This Brazilian airplane is a vital element of the US Afghan strategy supporting the development of an indigenous Afghan Air Force.The MD-530F Close Air Attack helicopter is being used both in a counterterrorist role and as a trainer for Afghan Air Force pilots of their Russian Mi-17 transport and Mi-35 attack helicopters.

NATO Plans Steady Course in Afghanistan

The NATO Defence Ministers have decided to fund the Alliance's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan until at least 2020.They will also maintain troops across Afghanistan,NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of Norway said.*
At the same time,the US is reviewing its plans to nearly cut its troop strength in half next year,in light of the Alliance's strong support for the Mission.*
Before the Defence Ministers' meeting,President Barack Obama has ordered greater use of US airpower against the Taliban militants,including close air support for the Afghan National Defence and Security forces.This is because the Taliban Islamist extremists have increased attacks of late mostly in the southern provinces of Helmand,Kandahar and Uruzgan;while also increasing their strikes in the northern city of Kunduz.*
The NATO combat mission in Afghanistan ended on 31 December 2014.Today its Resolute Support Mission includes counterterrorist operations by US troops;and training Afghan soldiers and police by both the US and its NATO Allies and partners,NATO said.The US share of Resolute Support is called Operation Freedom's Sentinel.*
Besides the Taliban,the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has become a significant threat to Afghan security.On Saturday,ISIL militants stormed a police base in Eastern Afghanistan,killing at least six.Among those killed in Haska Mina District in Nangarhar Province were District police chief Shah Mahmood,as well as five policemen and 11 ISIL militants.