| Afghanistan asks ex-presidential contender to tackle corruption |
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Canadian Press |
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KABUL, Afghanistan _ The Afghan government presented its strategy Wednesday for confronting the insurgency, including overtures to Taliban militants, building up its security forces and tackling corruption one week ahead of a key international conference aimed at shoring up the national leadership.
The plan was presented to the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board, including representatives from the government, the U.N. and major troop contributing countries. The board was to finalize programs to be presented at the Jan. 28 conference in London.
The goal of the conference is to bolster support for the government at a time when the U.S. and NATO allies are sending 37,000 reinforcements to ramp up the fight against the Taliban. U.S. officials have said the military effort cannot succeed without major reforms in the weak and corrupt Afghan government.
Former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, a sharp critic of President Hamid Karzai, planned to submit a report outlining new ideas for tackling corruption, which international officials believe has been driving Afghans into Taliban ranks. A U.N. report this week found that Afghans had paid a staggering $1.2 billion bribes over a 12-month period ending last fall _ roughly equal to one quarter of the national GDP.
Goals for training Afghan security forces also were expected to be finalized at Wednesday's meeting.
The government is calling for force levels to reach 400,000 in the next three to five years _ including 240,000 Afghan soldiers and 160,000 national police, according to a draft document obtained by The Associated Press. That would be up from the current levels of about 94,000 Afghan police officers and 97,000 soldiers.
The Obama administration believes the key to stability in Afghanistan is a strong security force that can protect the country and allow U.S. and other foreign troops to go home. The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, also has set the goal of building the Afghan security force to 400,000 by 2013.
British Col. Donald Bigger, who is part of the planning team for Afghanistan's security forces, gave more specific goals for the near future. He told the AP ahead of the meeting that the board would be asked to approve a goal of 134,000 soldiers and 109,000 police by the end of this year. That would increase to 172,000 soldiers and 134,000 police by the end of 2011.
"We expect those figures will be approved today," Bigger said.
A plan to reintegrate Taliban militants who renounce violence also was on the agenda as senior Afghan, U.N. and other international officials gathered at the Foreign Ministry amid tight security following Monday's co-ordinated attack by Taliban suicide bombers that brought the capital to a standstill.
Karzai's government is promising to have a two-pronged reintegration plan to persuade Taliban militants to switch sides ready by the spring to present to international donors who will have to come up with the money needed to lure them off the battlefield, according to a draft document obtained by The Associated Press.
The international community has said key Taliban leaders like Mullah Mohammed Omar would not be part of any reintegration plan. However, the draft, which was being discussed at Wednesday's meeting, does offer "key leaders of the Taliban movement" an opportunity for amnesty and reintegration.
Central to the plan will be a Grand Peace Council, that will include representation by all aspects of Afghanistan's society, including religious leaders, with the purpose of giving armed opponents a guarantee that their views will be heard.
"The government will provide the Taliban and other insurgent groups who wish to respect the constitution a dignified way to renounce violence and peacefully reintegrate into their communities and separate themselves from their past," said the draft report.
"The rank-and-file Taliban are not al-Qaida, they are our neighbours and cousins, and to achieve peace we need only remove their reason to fight," the report said. "As victory will not be achieved on the battlefield alone, but in the hearts and minds of our citizens, no effort can be spared to eliminate the civilian casualties that strengthen the enemy and rally support for their case."
The London conference is intended to map out a strategy that will give countries with soldiers serving in Afghanistan confidence that the government can turnaround a bourgeoning insurgency that is fueled by widespread discontent and frustration with a corrupt and inefficient system.
Goals will be reassessed after 2011 based on the results of the influx of 37,000 additional U.S. and NATO forces and the reintegration plan, he said.
President Barack Obama said in announcing the troop surge that the U.S. withdrawal could begin as early as July 2011 but he has conditioned that on the readiness of Afghan security forces.
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