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WASHINGTON D.C. (February 25, 2008) - Establishing peace and
stability here is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, and Afghan
Regional Security Integration Command Central is helping fit the
pieces together to build a cohesive security picture in the
region.
"For a successful counterinsurgency operation, all players --
the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Police and coalition
forces -- have to be involved and working together," said Marine
Corps Col. Phillip Smith, who commands the unit.
Kunar province is a hotbed of operations for anti-government
elements, including foreign fighters infiltrating through Pakistan.
Responsibility for interdicting this infiltration falls largely on
the Afghan Border Police.
Border-control points on main roads can only be partially
effective, since insurgents avoid these routes anyway, officials
explained. Mentors from Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix and Task
Force Rock, from NATO's International Security Transition Force
Regional Command East, have been helping the border police
establish elevated observation posts along the border to fill the
gaps.
"We're building up OPs on the Pakistan border to give them
fighting positions that will enhance defensibility and
survivability," said Army Capt. Brian Pinson, an embedded trainer
with 5th Kandak, 1st Brigade, 201st Afghan National Army Corps.
One of these observation points, at Donai, was built in just a
week, Army Capt. Albert Fitzpatrick, of Task Force Rock said.
Working side by side, border police and U.S. mentors dug trenches
and fighting positions, filled and placed sandbags, and built a
command post.
"Its location is important to border security," Fitzpatrick
said.
Afghan Border Police Capt. Ramah Gull, whose men occupy the
observation post around the clock, agreed. "It will help us secure
areas from the Nawa Pass to the adjacent valley," he said.
When Gull's element takes fire or observes suspicious activity,
he can call in the provincial border police quick-reaction force. A
U.S. Special Forces detachment is busy training a border police
kandak, or battalion, as a quick-reaction force at the Camp Wright
range on the Asadabad Provincial Reconstruction Team compound.
"The training is very advanced," said 2nd Lt. Zamari of the
border police. "(It is) a good fit for our mission."
Dealing with enemy fighters operating in Kunar, and particularly
in the Pech Valley, is a matter for the Afghan National Army,
mentored and reinforced by embedded training teams from Task Force
Rock and Task Force Phoenix.
"The enemy is trying to disrupt lines of communication using
small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive
devices," said ANA Capt. Mohammed Tahir, intelligence officer for
the 3rd Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 201st Corps. "The Korengal Valley is
especially contentious."
The enemy takes advantage of the mountain terrain to attack and
disperse quickly. Once an area is cleared of insurgents,
coordination with Afghan National Police is essential to establish
and maintain control. The Kunar Provincial Coordination Center is
the node in Asadabad where this occurs.
"Building relationships between the ANP and the ANA is vital,"
Brig. Gen. Abdul Jalal, the provincial police chief, said. "We are
building these relationships now."
But, he stressed, more equipment and training are needed.
"Focused District Development -- a program that takes a whole
district at one time, trains and equips them, and returns them to
duty -- will begin to address such shortfalls," Army Brig. Gen.
Robert Livingston, CJTF Phoenix commander, said.
Piecing the security puzzle together will take time, resources
and effort.
The Afghan security forces can fight, Livingston said.
"Sustaining the force is their key to success," he added.
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