NATO struggles with Afghan troops; Awakening arrests isolated

NATO challenged by Afghan troop commitment

As NATO prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary, the alliance faces embarrassment if it cannot muster the 4,000 troops needed in southern Afghanistan.

World leaders descended on Strasbourg, France, as the NATO alliance prepares to mark its 60th anniversary. Among the topics at the France meeting is a strategic assessment of the war plans for Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Gen. John Craddock, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, had asked for 4,000 extra troops to support security efforts in the volatile south of Afghanistan and for support during the August elections. So far, reports the Times of London, none of the NATO members have come forward.

U.S. President Barack Obama has unveiled a major new strategy for Afghanistan that includes troop deployments and non-military aid to Pakistan. Craddock had originally called for eight battalions, which was later cut in half, leading some to raise concerns over a U.S. military dominance in Afghanistan.

Apart from troop commitments, NATO leaders are expected to consider a consolidated command structure for military and police training in Afghanistan. That, the Times notes, may upset France as it looks to put a European face on its effort in Afghanistan.

NATO is also expected to vet candidates for a secretary-general to replace Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who steps down at the end of July.

Russia eyed for military shipments to Afghanistan

Russia raised the possibility of permitting military cargo shipments from the United States to cross its territory into Afghanistan as bilateral ties warm.

Russia has in the past allowed shipments for Afghanistan to travel through its territory, but only non-lethal components. Russian foreign minister spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told reporters, however, that his country is open to negotiations on military shipments as well, the Financial Times reports.

U.S. President Barack Obama had mentioned finding alternate transit routes into Afghanistan as part of a broader revamped strategy for the embattled nation.

Attacks from insurgents loyal to the Taliban have resulted in the closure of the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan from Pakistan, where the bulk of U.S. cargo transits. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan has ordered U.S. military forces out of the country, closing a vital supply route for NATO forces in Afghanistan.

In related developments, Tehran said Thursday it was approached by two private companies from Germany who were interested in using Iranian territory to ship non-military goods to NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Military dominance concerns aid groups

International assistance groups warned the military-centric strategy for Afghanistan lacks clarity and inhibits long-term prospects for peace.

The Caught in the Conflict report to NATO members by the non-governmental organization community in Afghanistan warns the reconstruction effort there is undermined by military dominance.

"There is a need for a truly comprehensive strategy for the long-term reconstruction and stabilization of Afghanistan," the report said.

NATO forces in Afghanistan and NGOs agreed in 2008 to provisions intended to keep military, political and reconstruction efforts separated. The NGO report, however, warns that policy is largely ignored.

The aid group Oxfam said military officials in Afghanistan are using reconstruction efforts as a counterinsurgency tool and confuse the issue by using vehicles typically marked for use by the United Nations and NGOs.

"This undermines local perceptions of the independence and impartiality of aid agencies and therefore increases the risk to aid workers, and threatens to reduce the areas in which they can safely work," Oxfam said.

Meanwhile, the civilian death tool by aerial assaults by international forces in Afghanistan were up 72 percent in 2008 compared with the previous year, the U.N. humanitarian news agency IRIN reports.

Awakening Council arrests isolated

The arrest of members of the Awakening Councils in Iraq was isolated to particular individuals and not a move targeting the entire group, officials say.

Iraqi security officials last week arrested Adil al-Mashhadani, an Awakening leader in Baghdad, on suspicion of ties to terrorist activity. Mustafa Kamil Shabib, a Baghdad member of the Awakening Council, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty the group was "concerned they will be prosecuted for their past."

The Sunni-led Awakening Councils grew out of a movement opposing the rise of al-Qaida in the western Anbar province in 2005. The group and its paramilitary force, Sons of Iraq, have alleged ties to Sunni insurgents, and recent reports suggest al-Qaida has infiltrated the group.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Friday the arrests were meant as a message to those who sought to upset political developments in Iraq, the Voices of Iraq news agency says.

Maliki noted the Mashhadani arrest followed a lengthy investigation into his activity.

Meanwhile, the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq said several Awakening members held at the Rusafa prison would launch an open-ended hunger strike to protest their "illegal detention."

Kurds meet outgoing U.S. general

Kurdish and Peshmerga officials met with the outgoing U.S. general in charge of American ground forces in Iraq to discuss security issues in northern Iraq.

Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, along with Peshmerga commanders, met U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, who is winding down his mission in Iraq.

A statement delivered to the Voices of Iraq news agency says the meeting dealt with a wide range of issues, from the pending elections in the Kurdish provinces to general security measures in northern Iraq.

Insurgents in the northern city of Mosul have killed at least 113 in recent attacks. Meanwhile, the Christian community has expressed renewed concern over violence targeting their community in Kirkuk following the death of four Assyrian Christians.

Both sides stressed during the meeting the importance of continued cooperation between the Peshmerga and international forces in Iraq.

Austin said in March that he anticipates a prolonged U.S. military engagement in Mosul at the request of Baghdad.

Meanwhile, European lawmakers held a one-day conference to raise awareness of atrocities committed against the Kurds during the Saddam Hussein regime, the KRG reports.

Iraq surveys its mental health

A survey of mental-health disorders among members of the Iraqi population found an alarming prevalence of disorders among women.

The World Health Organization along with the Iraqi Ministries of Health and Planning organized a survey of more than 4,000 Iraqis over the age of 18 in March. It found a high incidence of mental-health disorders among women as the healthcare sector in Iraq stagnates, the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq reports.

"Women have lived through very difficult conditions, including having to carry the brunt of caring for the family, making ends meet and raising children -- at times completely on their own, especially since there is a high number of widows," said Samira al-Musawi, a woman's advocate in Iraq.

Despite that, however, Musawi said reports of post-traumatic stress disorder were 3.6 percent lower than anticipated for a country at war. Naima al-Gaseer with WHO said that low occurrence is in part due to the resilience of the Iraqi people, but noted a social stigma associated with reporting mental-health issues.

Meanwhile, the survey found the number of health professionals in Iraq was insufficient to handle the needs of the estimated 27 million people there.

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(dgraeber@upi.com)