'Progress' in Afghanistan

Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke at a press conference in Kabul at the end a two-day trip to Afghanistan this past weekend, during which violence continued in the war-torn country. Twelve Afghans, including one child, died in a suicide bombing in the south on Sunday, and five NATO service members lost their lives in separate incidents. The first six months of this year have seen more security incidents and an increase in civilian casualties, according to a UN report.

Mullen expressed "alarm’’ over the spike in violence but claimed that "progress is undeniable. Violence and intimidation are generally down." In a BBC interview, he spoke of a "dramatic difference from a year ago." Regarding the latest attacks and a spate of assassinations in southern Afghanistan, Mullen said these posed "challenges" but that they showed that the Taliban have resorted to individual, terrorist-style attacks after suffering significant blows in recent months.

The 'jet stream' of terror

Mullen admitted that insurgent "safe havens" across the border in Pakistan constituted an ongoing problem for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). In this context, he spoke of the "jet stream" passing from Pakistan through the Khost province right into Kabul. Referring specifically to Afghan militants of the anti-American Haqqani network operating from Pakistan, Mullen said that members of the network were finding it more difficult to penetrate the "jet stream." Earlier on Sunday, he had visited eastern Afghanistan where Haqqani militants have been attacking US forces.

Mullen has in the past accused Pakistani intelligence of maintaining a "longstanding relationship" with the Haqqani network, one of the deadliest groups fighting US troops in Afghanistan from Pakistan. "The safe havens that exist in Pakistan are a central and great risk in terms of the achievement of the overall strategy," Mullen declared in Kabul, adding that "those safe havens have to be addressed in order to generate any long-term success," which he defined as "a stable Afghanistan and a stable Pakistan." He added, "quite frankly right now we don’t have either."

The needs of the people

In a symbolic security transition which started last week, the responsibility of seven areas has been handed over to Afghan forces. Many Afghans, including senior officials are skeptical about the capabilities of the Afghan forces on the ground. Mullen has demanded that "Afghan government officials must work in becoming more responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people," to provide "good governance and delivery of basic services to people all the way down to the village level" – something that, according to Mullen, continues to challenge the region.

Author: Arun Chowdhury (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Sarah Berning