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WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 22, 2008) - Training Afghan security
forces is the key to success in the country, but the effort
continues to be plagued by a shortage of trainers, the general in
charge of that training said today.
Army Maj. Gen. Robert W. Cone, commander of the Combined
Security Transition Command Afghanistan, said Afghanistan has "made
positive strides in fielding professional security forces that are
competent, diverse and capable of providing security," but that
much remains to be done.
Cone spoke to reporters gathered at the Foreign Press Center
here in a teleconference from Kabul.
The command is responsible for training Afghan soldiers and
police. The Afghan National Army is doing quite well, Cone said,
but the police need continued work.
The idea, the general said, is to get the Afghans in the
lead.
"I think the objective of CSTC-A would be to allow the Afghans
to provide for the defense of Afghanistan," Cone said. "I think
Afghan soldiers see things in Afghanistan when they conduct
operations that Westerners do not see, based on cultural and ethnic
backgrounds that they understand."
The command has about 8,000 personnel -- 3,000 civilians and
about 5,000 military. About 800 members are from coalition
countries. The command does not fall under the NATO-led
International Security Assistance Force; it is under U.S. Central
Command control.
The situation in the country has become more dangerous. The
Taliban and other terrorists have launched a number of attacks on
Afghan and coalition forces. "That is, of course, of concern to
certainly me, because my forces are out in the battle space," he
said.
Still the Afghan military has stepped up, with roughly half of
the forces battling the Taliban being Afghan security forces.
"Afghans learn by doing, and in fact, the way you get better at
these combat operations is in fact to go out and execute them," he
said. "So as enemy attacks have stepped up, I would argue that this
year, the capability of the Afghan army -with some 63,000 troops in
the field and another 9,000 in training - has really allowed the
coalition to have a response for that with the Afghan
contribution."
Police training continues to be a problem, the general said.
"Right now the number is about 2,300 police trainers that we are
short," Cone said. "Again, we think that it is a joint
responsibility of all of the nations that are contributing here in
Afghanistan. We ask for their support."
Countries from around the world are working with U.S. police
trainers, with the majority of the trainers coming from the United
Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and Germany. There are roughly
79,000 police in Afghanistan, but the quality varies.
The major reform effort has been "focused district development"
a program that retrains police forces, district by district, with
heavy emphasis on values, constitutional responsibilities and rule
of law, Cone said.
Cone praised the efforts of the 2nd Battalion of the 7th
Marines, who deployed to Afghanistan in March. The unit is working
to train the police.
"Some of the districts that we've put police in have not had
police in them in years, and in fact, the Marines established that
security environment and then they have professional police
trainers that work with the Afghans," he said.
Cone said he is optimistic about the progress of the Afghan
security forces. He said any long-term solution in the country
depends on Afghans picking up the security mission.
"Much work remains, however, and it's important that the
international community understand and support this critical
mission so that we may have a safe and stable Afghanistan," he
said.
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