[R-G] US looks to take control of Nato war on Afghanistan

[Anthony Fenton]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10532992
US looks to take control of Nato war on Taleban
4:00AM Friday Sep 19, 2008
By Kim Sengupta
Robert Gates, in Bagram this week, is considering sweeping changes to  
the military command in Afghanistan. Photo / AP

Robert Gates, in Bagram this week, is considering sweeping changes to  
the military command in Afghanistan. Photo / AP

The Bush Administration is pushing for sweeping changes to the  
military command structure in Afghanistan, so the head of  
international forces would report directly to US Central Command  
instead of Nato.

The changes would have huge repercussions for Nato, whose officials  
have said Afghanistan is a "defining moment" for the organisation's  
ability to conduct large-scale operations abroad.

The Independent has learned the proposal to streamline the complex  
chain of command, enabling United States General David McKiernan to be  
answerable to superiors at Centcom in Tampa, Florida, rather than  
Nato, is before Robert Gates, the American Defence Secretary.

Gates is due in Britain today after a visit to Afghanistan where he  
spoke about the deteriorating security situation with senior Western  
officers and Afghan ministers.

At the same time, in a mark of the seriousness with which the  
Americans view the situation, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the  
joint chiefs of staff, flew to Pakistan from where Taleban fighters  
are mounting cross-border raids.

Any move to make the Afghan war a US-run operation would be  
controversial in some Nato countries. There is already public disquiet  
in countries such as Italy, Germany and Canada over the conflict.

Nevertheless, altering the command structure is an option in a wide- 
ranging plan by Washington to acquire greater control of the mission  
in Afghanistan.

A violent Taleban resurgence has made the past three months the most  
lethal for Western forces.

President George W. Bush has recently announced that several thousand  
troops will be moved from Iraq to Afghanistan, and General David  
Petraeus, who led the "surge" in Iraq, credited with reducing the  
violence there, is returning to the US in overall charge of both  
missions.

But it is the proposed change to the command structure in Afghanistan  
which is seen by the Americans as crucial to whether the Afghan  
mission succeeds. Officials say in Iraq, Petraeus was in sole command,  
which allowed him to carry out his counter-insurgency plan. But in  
Afghanistan different Nato countries are in charge of different  
regions, often with different rules. Forty nations are involved in  
Afghan operations.

US forces sent to Afghanistan recently from Iraq said the multi- 
layered command structure was stalling operations. One avenue under  
consideration is for Nato to continue to be in charge of matters such  
as logistics, force protection and public affairs while direct counter- 
insurgency operations would be run from Centcom by Petraeus.

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