The responsibility for this lies with Washington and its "war", of course, especially as Bush announced his opposition to any international force "until the war is over", whenever that is, thereby, once again deciding in favor of war rather than avoid the possibility of mass starvation. It exposes Washingtons' pretensions of "humanitarianism", whether proclaimed in the Balkans or anywhere else, whether under Democrats or Republicans, as a lie. A Big Lie, to be more precise.
The Northern Alliance, whose small forces are hopelessly overextended - as could have been easily predicted in this situation - are incapable of exercising any real control over the countryside. At the same time, they oppose the introduction of any foreign troops - except for some Russian troops who have reportedly reappeared in Kabul with "humanitarian" intentions, this time, according to the US press report I read. It appears Washington is acquiescing in the N.A. policy.
One odd note: I saw this article on the front page of the NYT in a newsstand on my way to work. At the newsracks on the lobby floor of this building, this same story had disappeared from the front page (I assume it is back paged somewhere). The sneaky NYT editors probably pulled it from the front page in mid-edition, perhaps after Bush's announcement above. If so, it shows how sensitive they are to the adverse propaganda implications of this story. That is just one more reason to follow it.
November 30, 2001
THE RELIEF Level of Food Aid to Afghans Drops By ELIZABETH BECKER
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 ·When allied forces routed the Taliban from Kabul and most of northern Afghanistan, international aid organizations predicted that the roads would soon be filled with truck convoys bearing food and supplies to the millions of Afghans thought to be at risk of starvation.
Three weeks later that optimism is fading. A crucial bridge into northern Afghanistan from Uzbekistan remains closed, cutting off the most promising avenue for shipping in supplies.
In a revealing reversal of fortunes, food deliveries have actually dropped since the Northern Alliance took Mazar-i-Sharif, the crossroads city that could become the hub for supplies across the northern half of Afghanistan. In the past two weeks, the tonnage delivered dropped to a pace less than half of what it had been in the previous two weeks.
The main problem is insecurity. Towns and cities are so chaotic that relief agencies cannot safely operate. Many roads are off limits because of lawlessness and banditry.
Most foreign aid workers have yet to return to Afghanistan because their organizations fear for their safety, a fear underlined by the killings of eight foreign journalists.
"Our expectations for returning quickly and resuming our work were certainly not met," said Oliver Ulrich of the United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "The general lawlessness is a huge problem ·not knowing who is in control and who can assure your safety." Instead of new supply routes opening up to fleets of trucks, old routes are shutting down.
Huge swaths of the north are off limits now, including the provinces of Ghor and Badghis and the area between Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat, to the west. Most of the south is inaccessible.
Winter is setting in, adding to the problems. Snow is falling in the highlands, making transport difficult even where the roadways are relatively safe. The International Rescue Committee, one of the largest private aid groups operating in Afghanistan, was gearing up to resume distribution of United Nations-supplied food throughout the country.
Instead, it has drastically scaled back its operations in Mazar-i-Sharif and Jalalabad and has refused to send any of its 20 staff members back into the country. "It's very bad and there are no signs of improvement," said Mark Bartolini, a spokesman for the committee.
This week private aid groups began a campaign to persuade the military to allow an international force to begin patrolling the roads so relief can resume. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan raised the issue of improved security with President Bush on Wednesday.
Uzbekistan has said it will keep the crucial bridge closed until an international force can ensure that the border is protected.
Although the United States has deployed troops of the 10th Mountain Division to the airports at Mazar-i- Sharif and Bagram, north of Kabul, to help them open to aid and military flights, American officials say they want Afghan forces to police the roadways, not foreign troops. And even though American military officials say they recognize the urgency of opening the bridge from Uzbekistan, they say their troops will not be protecting the border.
"We're working with the Afghan opposition groups on the south side of the bridge in Afghanistan," a senior military official said today. "But no, that is not something U.S. or coalition forces will be doing."
Initially, the United Nations had counted on an additional 4,000 British troops as well as French troops to provide security for the relief operation. But the Northern Alliance objected to those troops, and the relief operations have stumbled ever since. "Afghanistan today is a patchwork quilt of opportunity and restraint, with almost half of the country too insecure to operate in," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, director of Oxfam. "It's a no-brainer to say that we need an international force to get those desperately needed supplies to the people."
At negotiations in Germany this week, the smaller Afghan factions have said they would support an international security force, and today the Northern Alliance was more open to an international approach, though it continued to prefer an Afghan force.
Several governments and aid agencies are privately warning the Northern Alliance that they have not yet shown that they can provide security and are imperiling the mission to supply an estimated six million Afghans with food, clothing and shelter this winter.
The United Nations World Food Program finds itself in a frustrating bind. Throughout October, program officials pushed themselves to transport 50,000 tons of food into Afghanistan, and the country has stocks for the next month, but the private charities that are to distribute the food are blocked from getting it to the people who need it. "We did so well bringing the food in, but distribution is another question," said Abby Spring, speaking for World Food Program. "With the increasing harassment of aid workers and the looting, there is no question that some sort of security force has to be put on the ground soon."
In the past decade, more than 200 United Nations workers have been killed in relief efforts around the world and the organization is reluctant to put its staff members in danger in Afghanistan. So far, its workers have returned only to Kabul, to Faisabad, which has always been under Northern Alliance control, and today to Herat. With food supplies not secure, military airdrops of food packets are critical again. But airdrops raise different dangers. The United Nations reported today that two children were killed near Herat when they stepped on mines running across a field trying to pick up food packets.