Counterinsurgency doctrine requires patience; KRG hails PKK cease-fire moves

Afghanistan requires patience

The Pentagon struggles to make a quick turnaround in Afghanistan, but the counterinsurgency strategy that Washington employed takes time, officials say.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill grilled Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Washington's pick for the top military post in Afghanistan, on the strategy for Afghanistan and his track record as the chief Special Forces officer.

McChrystal, a disciple of the counterinsurgency strategy employed by U.S. Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq, told senators during his Tuesday confirmation hearing it may take up to two years before the U.S. military can see progress in Afghanistan.

"I believe counterinsurgency takes time," he said.

Those comments were echoed by retired Gen. James Jones, the U.S. national security adviser, who told an audience at The Atlantic Council last week that military strategists would know "within a year" whether the Afghan counterinsurgency strategy was working.

John Nagl, president of the Center for a New American Security, tells the Christian Science Monitor that, while counterinsurgency takes time, progress can develop at a local level if Washington can convince Afghans the mission is vital.

"Although defeating an insurgency takes a long time -- some 10 years on average -- it is possible to demonstrate local progress on a shorter time line, even one constrained by congressional election calendars," he says.

Afghan officials, for their part, expressed concern that immediate gains will erase the political will to remain committed to the embattled Asian nation.

"The success of the long-term strategy should not be measured by the immediate results," says Said Jawad, the Afghan envoy to Washington.

U.S. erred in May 4 strike

A U.S. military report on the May 4 airstrikes in the Afghan province of Farah found personnel had violated the rules of engagement, The New York Times reports.

U.S. military forces provided air support to Afghan police who became overrun by Taliban militants in the Bala Boluk district of Farah province. Afghan officials say U.S. military airstrikes killed more than 100 civilians, while American generals contest that number.

Senior U.S. military officials told the Times a report on the May 4 airstrike found U.S. air and ground forces did not follow the rules of engagement designed to prevent civilian casualties.

The report, which is not finalized yet, found one bomber was cleared for airstrikes on insurgent targets, but dropped additional bombs without target confirmation on a return run. This, the Times reports, lends credibility to claims insurgents had fled the area by the time the airstrikes began.

A separate airstrike was ordered in violation of the rules of engagement that require an immediate threat to U.S. and Afghan troops before engaging targets in civilian populated areas, the report says.

Afghan officials have expressed frustration with mounting civilian casualties, and top U.S. military strategists say the counterinsurgency plans for Afghanistan depend on the support of the domestic population.

In his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the choice for the top American commander in Afghanistan, said a reduction of civilian casualties in the Afghan campaign was "essential" to the U.S. mission.

Afghan wheat production up

Afghanistan is set for its best wheat harvest in more than three decades as yields rise by 63 percent and production increases by 95 percent, officials say.

U.N. and Afghan officials said cereal production in Afghanistan rose significantly compared with 2008, reaching 6.3 million tons. Wheat yields and production account for the majority of cereal production in Afghanistan.

Afghan Minister of Agriculture Asif Rahimi credited heavy rainfall, high-quality seeds and improved pest and disease management with contributing to the 2009 bumper harvest.

Rahimi said that, with cultivation acreage on the increase, Afghanistan needs foreign investments to modernize the agricultural sector and move away from an economy linked to opium.

"We are near to self-sufficiency (in wheat)," he said. "If we can bring water to our lands, invest in our lands and rebuild them, I think Afghanistan will not only be self-sufficient, but it will also be able to export."

Afghanistan led the region in terms of agricultural production prior to the Soviet invasion in 1979. It began exports of several crops in 2008, notably in pomegranates.

Barzani praises PKK moves

A decision by the Kurdistan Workers' Party to extend a cease-fire is a welcome step on the road to a peaceful resolution, Kurdish leaders in Iraq say.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, said it would extend its unilateral cease-fire to July 15 to give diplomacy time to work, adding it may consider additional extensions if political solutions were possible.

Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, welcomed the decision, saying it was time for multilateral discussions on the so-called Kurdish question.

"We welcome the PKK's recognition that there is no military solution to this problem," he said in statements published by the KRG. "We hope that the circle of discussion regarding this issue will be expanded in Turkey so that a peaceful, political solution can be identified."

Ankara stated recently it was considering domestic efforts to tackle the Kurdish question as several pro-Kurdish groups defeated the ruling Justice and Development Party in March municipal elections. Iran, meanwhile, struggles with its own Kurdish separatist issues, ramping up its military attacks against guerrillas in recent weeks.

Murat Karayilan, the leader of the PKK, in a May interview with London's pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat called for a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish question, saying a "Kurdish nation" could emerge through a Middle East alliance similar to the European Union.

"The Kurdish people should be liberated from occupation and from being a second-class nation as long as the establishment of an independent Kurdish state is not possible at present," he said.

Brits lack Iraqi training agreement

A failure by the British and Iraqi governments to reach a formal agreement on the training mission for Iraqi forces leaves Iraqi port security in question.

British naval vessels left Iraq and Royal Navy trainers suspended their mission there when London and Baghdad failed to formalize an agreement extending the British combat mission Sunday.

Iraqi lawmakers approved a draft measure on the agreement during the Tuesday session, but with Baghdad slow to move on political measures, the role for British trainers is in doubt, the Times of London reports.

The British Ministry of Defense says the Tuesday draft meets terms laid out by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Nouri al-Maliki, his Iraqi counterpart, in December, though lawmakers in Baghdad say Maliki was still upset over the rise of Shiite militias in the south, where British forces operated.

British forces have trained thousands of Iraqi soldiers to defend southern ports and oil platforms, though with no legal measures defining the British presence, U.S. forces are handling naval efforts while at the same time preparing for major troop reductions.

The Tuesday draft, meanwhile, falls well short of the 400 British troops envisioned for Iraqi defense and training, leaving Royal Navy trainers packing for home while lawmakers hammer out their disagreements.

UNHCR concerned over Iraqi refugees

Iraqi refugees and the internally displaced face difficulties as the country undergoes a delicate political transformation, the U.N. refugee agency reports.

A report by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees expressed deep concern regarding the needs of Iraqi refugees and the internally displaced community, noting that while the security and political situation in Iraq has improved, they may not be sustainable.

"Iraq is currently in a difficult and fragile transition phase that still requires the urgent attention of the international community," the report said.

The U.N. reports there are around 2 million internally displaced Iraqis and some 1.5 million refugees living mostly in Syria and Jordan who require continued support.

The UNHCR said Baghdad needs to make important developments in its national policies on displacement and return, housing and rehabilitation programs and property restitution before the country moves to absorb the displaced community.

For its part, UNHCR said it was able to come up with only 48 percent of its necessary funding, warning certain programs were at risk without substantial donor support.

With Iraqi ethno-sectarian issues accumulating from decades of misplaced policies, the humanitarian situation will require "collective and continuous" efforts, the report says.

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(dgraeber@upi.com)