Blog Posts tagged with "Michael O'Hanlon"

Just back from two days in Kabul, and when I think back on the situation a year ago, the progress is very encouraging.

I met with Gen. Stan McChrystal, the commander of ISAF, his German Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Bruno Kasdorf, and his entire international team, as well as with a senior group of Afghan security experts, Generals, and Ministers and several hundred Afghan soldiers.

Meeting Afghan troops during my visit

Of note, I toured the Kabul Military Training Center, which is 20,000 acres and currently has nearly 10,000 trainees undergoing a series of warrior and combat training courses at all levels from senior officer to junior recruit. Each “kandak,” the Afghan equivalent of a battalion, comprises about 700 soldiers, instructed by our fine trainers. I saw them do everything from respond to Improvised Explosive Devices to administer first aid to attack mock “insurgents” to gather for leadership discussions. I came away impressed with their spirit and evident confidence.

Lt. Gen. Bill Caldwell, in his position of Commander of the NATO Training Mission, is in charge of training Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) throughout the country. He currently has over 30,000 Afghans in training as he builds their Army and Police to over 250,000 by this fall. Bill is full of energy, and brings a great deal of deep experience in training to the job. He has a multinational staff, with senior officers from most of the 46 nations that make up ISAF. Ensuring that he receives the right number and quality of trainers is my top priority as SACEUR.

Meeting one of our great U.S. Army soldiers.

Lt. Gen. Rod Rodriguez, a tall, rangy former West Point lineman leads ISAF operations across Afghanistan, with over 70,000 U.S. and 45,000 other NATO and non-NATO troops under his command. He briefed me on operations in southern Afghanistan, in the Taliban heartland, where progress is steady and the ratio of coalition to Afghan soldiers and policemen approaches 1:1 for the first time in the conflict.

Another strong leader is Vice Adm. Bob Harward, a Navy SEAL with a distinguished combat record in Afghanistan and a fluent Dari-speaker. Bob is in charge of US national detention operations, which will be the first key operation fully transitioned to Afghan leadership. He showed me the plans of the new Parwan detention facility and laid out the rule of law approach he is taking in partnership with the Afghan government and the international community.

As always, I spent time with both Gen. McChrystal and U.S .Ambassador Karl Eikenberry. They are a great team and fashioning an excellent civil-military partnership, along with other key leaders of the international effort. As the Afghan Deputy Minister of Defense said to me, “We will not deliver security from the barrel of a gun in Afghanistan.” He’s right – it will take the combined efforts of ISAF, the Afghan people, the international community, and the neighboring nations to succeed.

Receiving an update on the field from Army Col. Herman.

I’m encouraged and cautiously optimistic about Afghanistan. In addition to the good work by the security forces, there are increasingly good indicators about the economy and society (GDP up 20% last year; potentially huge mining deposits of iron, copper, lithium, and other minerals and metals; 12 million cell phones; 6 million children in schools, doubled over five years, over 40 % of them girls; number of teachers nationwide has doubled). Afghans seem to recognize this progress, and many national polls show strong confidence in the future of the country (70%+) and approval for the government (60%+), very favorable compared to many western countries.

Of concern, violence is up markedly over last year, largely the result of the efforts of both the ANSF and ISAF to take on the Taliban in their “home waters” down south. It will take perseverance and grit to get through what will be a dangerous and tough summer. The insurgency is stubborn and resilient, although largely ineffective in their attempts to attack our forces beyond the toll of IEDs. Overall, there are many challenges ahead; yet I would argue the prognosis for Afghanistan looks brighter today than a year ago, and I believe it will continue to improve.

For additional information, Michael O'Hanlon wrote a great article on the situation in Afghanistan. It's definitely worth reading.

Admiral James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander Europe