May 2, 2003
Following US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's statement in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Thursday that the bulk of the country was now secure, and formal combat operations would cease, the aid community countered that Afghanistan was still dangerously insecure, and called on Washington to improve security as part of its contribution towards reconstruction.
"It is premature to declare victory," Paul Barker, the country director of the US-based aid agency CARE International, told IRIN in Kabul, adding that a US role in improving security would be more helpful than its engaging in reconstruction.
"What we are seeing is an increased insurgent anti-government and anti-foreign presence activity," Barker said, asserting that CARE was witnessing the emergence of a loosely-aligned guerilla movement rather than a renaissance of the Taliban. "We are seeing a change in the security environment; I don't think we are seeing a development or improvement," he said.
But the US's shift in emphasis in Afghanistan from combat to reconstruction has been welcomed and deemed positive by the United Nations in Kabul. "We welcome any assistance towards reconstruction," David Singh, a media officer from the UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan, told IRIN, noting that the US trend towards reconstruction was a positive intervention. "There are many players involved in Afghanistan, with various approaches, but all want the same thing - to rebuild the country," he said.
Rumsfeld also announced an expansion in the operations of US military Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), currently limited to three provinces of Afghanistan, to expedite development and boost security. He said Washington hoped to be able to encourage more countries to take part in the initiative, "Teams of people that can contribute to security and contribute to the life of the people in those provinces by ways of hospitals, schools, roads - all the things that might be needed, these PRTs can play a constructive and positive role," Rumsfeld told reporters in Kabul.
The high-ranking US visit was considered as promising by some Afghans who had been concerned that the Iraq crisis would divert US attention away from Afghanistan. "The delegation's visit was a positive sign of US interest towards Afghanistan," Shukraya Barekzai, a member of the Afghan constitutional commission, told IRIN.
She noted, however, that Washington had done nothing in terms of ending warlordism - one of the most potent threats to stability in the country. "We have not seen a direct warning or counteraction against warlords who are playing with the destiny of the country by their military power," she said.
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