[R-G] The Taliban's Roads to Kabul

[Anthony Fenton]

http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick04292009.html

April 29, 2009

The Noose Tightens in Afghanistan
The Taliban's Roads to Kabul

By PATRICK COCKBURN

Kabul.

Hamid Karzai, who played host to the British prime minister, Gordon  
Brown, in Kabul two days ago, will have been delighted to hear the  
Prime Minister confirm the long-standing Afghan belief that there can  
be no long-term success against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan so  
long as they base themselves in Pakistan.

Afghan leaders blame the Taliban resurgence since 2006 on support from  
the ISI, Pakistan's military intelligence, and the use of base areas  
in Pakistan to regroup, train, and receive weapons and supplies. But  
Afghans wonder if the US, Britain or their allies are really prepared  
to do anything effective about Pakistan's support for the Taliban,  
which has been obvious since the 1990s.

The lockdown in Kabul ahead of Mr Brown's visit with checkpoints and  
road closures was an illustration of the security problem which still  
plagues the country.

The Afghan Army and police are also keen to make sure that Afghan  
Independence Day passes off peacefully, in contrast to last year, when  
Taliban gunmen tried to shoot the Afghan President during the  
ceremonies.

This year, suicide bombers have so far had more difficulty in  
penetrating central Kabul, although there was one attack on the  
Justice Ministry and the  Prisons Administration.

The most serious deterioration in security in the last year has been  
on the roads leading from Kabul. "A year ago I was able to go to my  
village in Logar province 60 miles south of Kabul, but now I would not  
dare go because the Taliban would kill me for having links with the  
government," said one Afghan journalist, who does not want his name  
published.

"Groups of six or eight Taliban, riding motorcycles, set up mobile  
checkpoints and look for government employees or people connected with  
non-government organizations. If they find them, they shoot them."

Despite Mr Brown's tough words, the ability of the Taliban to control  
or contest almost all of southern Afghanistan outside the cities will  
be difficult to reverse. Britain had 8,300 troops in Afghanistan,  
mostly in Helmand, and is sending a further 700 for the elections in  
August. They will be reinforced by more than 8,000 US Marines in the  
coming weeks, which are part of the extra 25,000 US soldiers that  
President Obama is sending to reinforce the 40,000 already in the  
country.

"We are confident that we are shouldering our share of the burden," Mr  
Brown said.

The only safe road out of Kabul is to the north, through the Salang  
tunnel, eventually leading to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This route is  
likely to be used increasingly for US and Nato supplies. which are  
being threatened by repeated attacks on vehicles carrying them through  
Peshawar in Pakistan.

All other roads around the capital are permanently or intermittently  
under Taliban control. The father of the Education Minister was  
recently kidnapped when he went to attend a family funeral in his home  
province.

Officials travelling with Mr Brown said he is to unveil a new strategy  
similar to that of President Obama, which will put emphasis on  
training police as well as the army. The former, paid only £50 a  
month, are notoriously corrupt and ineffective. The regular army has a  
much better reputation among Afghans but is poorly equipped, its  
soldiers often driving thin skinned vehicles that are highly  
vulnerable to bomb attacks.

Patrick Cockburn is the author of 'The Occupation: War, resistance and  
daily life in Iraq', a finalist for the National Book Critics' Circle  
Award for best non-fiction book of 2006. His new book 'Muqtada!  
Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia revival and the struggle for Iraq' is  
published by Scribner.