Afghan Army: A fledgling concept?
Ajai Shukla
Friday, December 6, 2002 (Kabul):
In Afghanistan, a multinational force maintains law and order in Kabul and Chairman Hamid Karzai's personal security is looked after by Americans. But now American-led efforts are on to train a national army that can take over these tasks and extend the control of the government to all parts of the country.
French and American instructors have been training the first units of the new Afghan army at the Kabul Military Training Centre. The syllabus here is not just military, but also includes subjects such as human rights and ethics - issues that the Americans say are receiving an enthusiastic response.
Chaplain Andy, US Army instructor, described a routine: "I'll ask them the question, is it important having gone through the principles of Human Rights and rules of warfare? Is this something that you need to establish in your nation and to establish the respect of the military and they'll say, 'yes it is'. And I'll ask them a second time is this something that you need and I'll ask them louder and they'll shout 'YES IT IS'."
Despite the enthusiasm, there are major hurdles in disarming the regional militias and merging their fighters into a national army. Regional warlords are reluctant to send their soldiers as they fear this would reduce their authority.
So instead of the planned 12,000 men, the Afghan army has barely 2,000 men.
The problem is not just of numbers, but also of quality. Transforming raw recruits into soldiers in just 12 weeks is a difficult task. And with the regional commanders unwilling to send men from their own militias, what's happening here will be seen by them as the creation of yet another factional army - this one aligned with Hamid Karzai.
One solution to the problem could be to give regional warlords a share in the Ministry of Defence, which would make them see the army as theirs and not just Kabul's.
This, however, runs into another roadblock - Marshal Fahim. The Minister of Defence and the most powerful man in Kabul has no intention of sharing his authority.
But the fledgling force is soldiering on. For national unity, they're even willing to fight the regional militias. Aminullah, one of the Afghan army trainees, said, "The way they are training our army, whatever order we are given for the defence and security of our country, we will discharge our responsibilities."
But unless the Afghan factions join forces, the national army could become yet another pawn in the already crowded power game in Afghanistan.