Dear
Ladies and Gentlemen,
|
Former Chairman of NATO Military Committee and Chief of Staff of the
German Federal Armed Forces, General (ret)
Klaus Naumann—member
of the
International
Advisory Board of the World Security Network
Foundation—after his visit with the SACEUR in Afghanistan:
"First
priority is a clearer comcept of reconstruction, a better
coordination between NATO, the UN and NGOs and a still missing
coherent campaign plan" |
Former Chairman of NATO Military Committee and Chief of Staff of the
German Federal Armed Forces, General (ret)
Klaus Naumann
in an exclusive interview with WSN president
Hubertus Hoffmann
on his Impressions from Afghanistan and What NATO Should Do Now.
Hubertus Hoffmann:
You just returned from Afghanistan from a trip with NATO Saceur General
Jones, what are your main findings?
Klaus Naumann:
We maybe overburden the Afghan government and its people with our
Western proposal of a central government, which this country has never
had in its history before. Over centuries, there was always a
competition between the rulers in Kabul and the local tribal areas. Now,
the West, led by the United States, has imposed on Afghanistan a central
government, which was made responsible for everything. If you ask them
about their ideas of how to rebuild Afghanistan, you mostly get
different vague ideas and nothing concrete. Our first priority: we now
need a clearer concept of reconstruction; you need this for investments
to build up the economy, to create jobs and create long-lasting
stability—and a safer future for the government.
Issue
number two is security: The good news is that two thirds of the country
is more or less secure. The rest is still combat area to be made safer
in order to attract investors into Afghanistan.
Priority number three is a better coordination between NATO, the UN and
NGOs. A lot of aid is poured into the country, but it is not coordinated.
There is still no coherent campaign plan. And NATO has been in
Afghanistan for three years.
Hubertus Hoffmann:
What can NATO do now?
Klaus Naumann:
NATO is now at a crossroad. It has been asked to take over the operation
“Enduring Freedom” from the Americans, but some elements of it should
remain solely US organized. It will complicate command and control.
Based on my experience, that will not work; it could create frictions
and tensions as seen in the former Yugoslavia. There is a good tradition
in the military, like the US Marine Corps puts it: “keep it short and
simple !” The proposal now is neither simple nor a quick fix. NATO still
has to do some homework. The NATO commander is asked to run the
operations in Afghanistan without any reserves—a contradiction to all
military experience.
NATO
needs much more air transport capacities as well to redeploy its troop
in that difficult terrain. The operational planning today is a little
shaky. Maybe it is not wise to call Afghanistan the “test case” for the
21st century.
Hubertus Hoffmann:
Which role does Pakistan and its secret service ISI play now?
|
Klaus Naumann:
"NATO
is now at a crossroad in Afghanistan. It needs more air transport
capacities and must have reserves. The discussed new structure of
NATO and US forces must be simple to work." |
Klaus Naumann:
It is obvious that some people in the Pakistani establishment and the
ISI—who supported the Taliban prior to 9/11—still believe in the idea
that from the Pakistani point-of-view Afghanistan is their “hinterland”
in its strategic disposition to India. As long as this idea finds
support, the Pakistani backing of the Western influence and the new
concept for an independent Afghanistan will be unclear. Pakistan’s
President is committed to fighting the Taliban, especially in the tribal
areas between the two countries where they regroup and regain strength.
NATO and US commanders argue: We know where the Taliban are, we fight
them and are confident we will win. But the Taliban still win in
recruiting young people, especially in the Koran schools. They use their
propaganda very efficiently in the rural areas where only 15 percent of
the population can read and write. One of the very simple but effective
Taliban propaganda is: The handover from the US to NATO means in reality
a withdrawal of the United States and that the Taliban has won the war
against the US. We need an information campaign. And the Taliban are
fighting “the foreigners” which has been a tradition in Afghanistan for
1000 years. Historically they have always been successful, for example,
against the British and later the Soviets.
Hubertus Hoffmann:
Which role does poppy production play strategically?
Klaus Naumann:
The farmers do not have so many alternatives to poppy planting as their
main source of income. A good one is the production of rose oil, which
can be sold with a nice profit. Much more profit is being made by the
warlords and drug dealers, so NATO has to face these two powerful groups
as well. One good step was the “fatwa” by the Islamic leaders against
drug production as being against Islam and the spraying of poppy fields
by the Americans. But so far, not much had been done by the British who
were made responsible for this problem according to the Petersburg
Conference. One option is to attack proactively the convoys of the drug
dealers which can be easily be spotted; this is not directed against the
Afghan people, as the drug dealers have paid the farmers already.
Hubertus Hoffmann:
Which role do the German forces play in Afghanistan?
|
"So far, not much had been done to stop poppy production. One option
is to attack proactively the convoys of drug dealers which can be
easily be spotted." |
Klaus Naumann:
The Germans are doing a good job although improvements would be possible
if help and security were in one hand, if there were not such a rigid
separation of responsibilities and if the bureaucracy which has to
authorise the flow of cash were working faster. Whether it is wise to
withdraw more or less from Kabul as the centre of power is an open
question.
Dr.
Hubertus Hoffmann
President and Founder
World Security Network
Foundation |