Tribal leadership key to security in Nangarhar

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

08.13.2010

Story by Spc. Albert Kelley 

Combined Joint Task Force 101

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The tribe has always been the most powerful structure in Pashtun society; now the tribe is being called upon to help increase security in Nangarhar.

Nearly 200 tribal elders, or Maliks, from Nangarhar’s largest tribes, the Shinwari, the Mohmand and the Khogiani tribes, gathered to discuss tribal matters and listen to coalition force leaders and provincial government leaders request their assistance in improving security in the Nangarhar province, Aug. 4 and Aug. 7.

“During the soviet era and the civil war era that followed, many of the elders had become maligned,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. James D. Sisemore of Lexington, Mo., commander of 1st Special Troops Battalion, Task Force Spartan. “The objective of these shuras was to reconnect the tribes back with the government.”

Coalition and provincial leaders also asked the tribes to support the constitution, oppose external foreign influences, support a free election for all men and women and set an example for other tribes to follow, said U.S. Army Capt. Glenn T. Battshinger of Mays Landing, N.J., a civil affairs operations center leader with the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team.

“Taking on a larger security role is not intended to replace the Afghan National Security Forces,” said Battshinger. “It augments what they are doing.”

Providing security does not necessarily require picking up weapons. It includes keeping insurgents out of the villages and reporting their activities.

Working with the different tribes will itself be a challenge as each tribe possesses its own daily concerns that it’s dealing with.

The Mohmand tribe, the largest landholder of the three tribes, is the most secure tribe.

The Khogiani tribe is currently struggling to stabilize its leadership.

“Recently, [the Khogiani] lost their tribal chief to an improvised explosive device,” said Battshinger.

The Shinwari tribe is dealing with internal disputes over land. However, they have chosen to work with the government and use arbitration to settle their disputes versus the traditional method – with guns.

“We feel connected to the government,” said one village elder. “Before, there was definitely distance between the government and the people.”

Task Force Spartan leaders feel they are taking the correct approach.

“[Ultimately], a reduced number of attacks against coalition forces and Nangarhar residents will determine the success of the shuras,” said Sisemore.

• Date Taken: 08.13.2010
• Date Posted: 08.13.2010 06:58
• Story ID: 54520
• Location: NANGARHAR PROVINCE, AF