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Afghans look at what is happening in Iraq and are working to ensure their country does not go down that path, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force said here today.
Army Gen. John F. Campbell also said the leaders of the new Afghan unity government have been working together well as they navigate the road ahead.
Campbell said the atmosphere with President Ashraf Ghani and Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah is constructive in working with the Americans and also in supporting the Afghan national security forces.
The general said he objects to comparisons between Afghanistan and Iraq. In Iraq, the government did not want American assistance following the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2011, he said.
Iraq had well-trained and functioning security organizations when the U.S. departed, the general said. After several years of partisan rulings “the [Iraqi] government let the people down,” Campbell said. The Iraqi army then fell apart when confronted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, he said.
Afghan Leaders Embrace Unity
After a long election process, Afghan leaders embraced unity. Ghani and Abdullah -- former rivals for the presidency -- are working together.
The two senior Afghan leaders “embrace the Afghan security forces,” said Campbell, who served as the commander of ISAF’s Regional Command-East in 2009.
“President Ghani said he is a commander in chief and he is looking out for their welfare,” the general said. “It’s night and day from the last time I was here.”
The election process was acrimonious and protracted, and some commentators believed that Afghan forces would break apart along ethnic lines. “But that didn’t happen because of the political leadership,” Campbell said. “Afghans also have a lot of national pride and they see themselves as Afghans first.”
The Afghans are proud of their warrior traditions and the army and police they have built, the general said. The latest independent polls show a great deal of Afghan-citizen support --- around 85 percent -- for their Army. The police are behind in citizens’ polling, but not by much, with approval rates in the 70s, Campbell said.
Afghan Security Forces’ Growth, Development
“The Afghans are warriors. I’ve been around them for three different tours now, and I’ve seen them grow and develop,” the general said. Afghan forces, he added, have also been exposed “to what right looks like,” meaning they have seen American and coalition forces do the right things and can learn from that.
Afghans control their own security environment now, Campbell said. Afghan forces conducted more than 98 percent of the security operations in the country this past year by themselves, he noted.
The areas the Afghan forces have difficulties in are the areas that other large armies have trouble: logistics, sustainment, aviation and close-air support and intelligence, the general said.
“Those are areas we have identified as gaps,” he said, “and we have to keep working on as we go into [the Operation] Resolute Support” train, advise, and assist mission.
Afghan forces and the Afghan ministries of Defense and the Interior need to understand planning, programming and budgeting processes, Campbell said.
“I have senior people working with their Afghan counterparts to handle this,” he said. “Transparency, accountability, oversight, rule of law -- those are areas where we are going to work with the ministries and the [army] corps.”
(Follow Jim Garamone on Twitter: @garamoneDoDNews)
Story by Jim Garamone, DoD News, Defense Media Activity
| Date Taken: | 12.08.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.03.2025 10:26 |
| Story ID: | 504832 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 1 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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