If problems in Iraq weren't enough. Afghanistan heats up

[Yard Ape]

Afghan warlord on the warpath
Wednesday, Apr. 7, 2004
Associated Press (http://globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040407.waffy0407/BNStory/International/)

Kabul — A powerful Afghan warlord launched a broad assault against two rivals in northern Afghanistan, the Defence Ministry said Wednesday, as the fighting threatened to further destabilize the fragile country.

Forces loyal to Abdul Rashid Dostum moved into Faryab province late Tuesday and were advancing toward the provincial capital along three fronts, Deputy Defence Minister Rahim Wardak told The Associated Press.

Details were sketchy from the remote province, about 400 kilometres northwest of Kabul, but Mr. Wardak said: “For sure, there are casualties, but I can't confirm how many.”

The intelligence chief in Faryab's government, Omayoun Haini, said 2,000-3,000 of Mr. Dostum's men armed with light weapons moved in from neighbouring provinces on some 200 vehicles and 400 horses.

In Kabul, the capital, a defence ministry spokesman said 750 troops from the new U.S.-trained national army were being rushed to Faryab to calm the situation. But it was not clear if the troops would arrive in time to stop Mr. Dostum's forces from taking Faryab's capital, Maymana.

Mr. Dostum's assault will likely add to growing concerns over long-standing tensions between the government of U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai and regional leaders who are keen to hold on to their autonomy and their well-armed militias.

The fighting could also cast further doubt on whether Afghanistan is ready to hold its first national elections since the fall of the Taliban. The vote is slated for September.

Defence Ministry spokesman Gen. Zaher Azimi said a government delegation was en route to Mr. Dostum's headquarters in Sheberghan, the capital of neighbouring Jawzjan province.

But Haini, the intelligence chief, said Mr. Dostum's forces had already captured Juma Bazaar, 20 kilometres from Maymana, after the local commander simply switched sides.

In Maymana, Gov. Enayatullah Enayat said he had 2,000 fighters dug in around the town and ready to take on Mr. Dostum's forces. “People in the city are scared, but our troops' morale is very high,” he said.

Officials in the town said shops were shuttered and that an 8 p.m. curfew had been imposed.

Mr. Dostum, a feared former communist commando and veteran of Afghanistan's brutal civil wars, has maintained a private army and a tight political grip on northwestern Afghanistan since he helped oust the Taliban in 2001.

Mr. Enayat and Hashim Khan, a regional army commander loyal to Mr. Karzai, “were trying to act independently (and) in support of the central government,” prompting Mr. Dostum to invade Faryab in an effort to rein them in, Mr. Wardak said.

Mr. Dostum, however, has shown some loyalty to Mr. Karzai, serving for a time as deputy defence minister. He even recently appealed in vain for the government to give him a leading role in fighting the Taliban-led insurgency in the south.

[Webley]

Afghanistan has a king, so why not have this monarch give these warlords a title in exchange for their vasselage?

I know its fuedal, but this seems to be the stage they are at. I think the situation could at least be stabilized there if these warlords were brought into a parliamentary government.

[Romulus]

Meh....

[Yard Ape]

It was a fuedal system that allowed Taliban to come to power. Can we leave the door open for them to come back in?

[Mark Sman]

I know its fuedal, but this seems to be the stage they are at.

You are right, but it is time to drag them, kicking and screaming, into the 18th century.

[Webley]

It was a fuedal system that allowed Taliban to come to power. Can we leave the door open for them to come back in?

Actually, the Taliban were a theocratic government.

[16 OBr SpN]

Abdurashid Dustum is one of the most stubborn and ambitious warlords. He always had problems with Fahim, and Abdullah, but those were put aside when Taliban was in power.

But he is as greedy as a pig, so it makes him somewhat controllable and predictable.

Regards,
16 OBr SpN

[talib_killa34]

Not good news at all.

The US is going to end up playing the warlords off of each other eventually.

Get ready. :|

[xjym2002]

Two-War Strategy: To be able to decisively win two near-simultaneous major regional conflicts. Seems it works. But what about postwar occupation?

Bush could focus on Afghan in the first 4 years, then it would win him the next 4 years. Now seems unlikely. My hindsight.

[Yard Ape]

It was a fuedal system that allowed Taliban to come to power. Can we leave the door open for them to come back in?

Actually, the Taliban were a theocratic government.Yes, but they came to power in a fuedal enviroment.

[Yard Ape]

Afghan warlord takes over province
Globe and Mail Update (http://globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040408.wfaay0408/BNStory/International/)
Thursday, Apr. 8, 2004

Kabul — A powerful warlord's militia overran a provincial capital in Afghanistan on Thursday, forcing the governor to flee in what could be the biggest challenge yet to U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai.

The takeover of Maymana may raise concerns in Washington over the stability of Afghanistan as the country prepares for national elections and American troops face a surge of violence in Iraq.

Forces of Abdul Rashid Dostum stormed into Maymana, capital of Faryab province some 420 kilometres northwest of Kabul, Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said.

“They have control of the city,” Mr. Jalali said, adding that the “massive” force had met little opposition.

However, Mr. Jalali pledged to reinstate the Kabul-appointed governor, Enayatullah Enayat, who fled to the airport, and vowed that Mr. Dostum's forces would be ousted from the town.

Enayat will “continue in his job and we're going to send more police to protect him and allow him to do it,” Mr. Jalali told a news conference.

It was the second major militia clash in Afghanistan in less than a month, and threw further doubt on the war-ravaged country's readiness for elections.

The government already has deployed 1,500 troops from its U.S.-trained Afghan National Army to the western city of Herat after bloody factional fighting last month left 16 dead, including a cabinet minister.

U.S. officials had hoped the Afghan army would play an important role in bolstering the 13,500-strong military coalition as it pursues Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. It also wants the national army to eventually supplant militias across the country.

But the force has managed to collect only 8,000 men, despite increased training programs.

U.S. military and embassy officials in Kabul had no immediate comment on the latest fighting or deployment plans.

Mr. Jalali said 750 more soldiers would be deployed in Faryab. “Whatever is necessary for maintaining stability and peace, they are going to do it,” he said.

Mr. Dostum, a former communist and veteran of Afghanistan's brutal civil wars, ran a swath of the country, including Faryab, as a personal fiefdom in the early 1990s.

He returned to power in the region after helping U.S. forces drive out the Taliban in late 2001, and has since maintained a large private army.

But Mr. Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek, has appealed in vain for a top security job in Mr. Karzai's administration, and his men have fought repeatedly for control of the territory with Tajik rivals allied with Defence Minister Mohammed Fahim.

Officials in Faryab accused Mr. Dostum of trying to drive them out of office for allying too closely with Mr. Karzai's government.

Mr. Dostum's aide in Kabul, Akbar Boy, said he had discussed the situation in Faryab with elders of the province but had ordered no moves against Mr. Enayat or Hashim Khan, the commander of the 200th Afghan army division, who Mr. Jalali said also fled Maymana.

Mr. Boy said government troops were welcome in the region, but cautioned that there would be a backlash if they sided with the embattled officials, whom he accused of receiving government funds to buy votes ahead of the elections.

“The people of Faryab will rise against them,” Boy said. “They don't want Hashim.”

Mr. Karzai's government has vowed to disarm some 40,000 militia fighters and round up heavy weapons in the country by the September vote.

Mr. Jalali said the government is pinning its hopes in a UN-sponsored demobilization plan to disarm fighters and reintegrate them into civilian life.

“We hope that by the election, we will have everything under control,” he said.

In unrelated violence, two Afghan army soldiers were among seven people killed across the insurgency-torn south and east, officials said. One died in a gunbattle during a search operation in southern Helmand province. An American soldier was wounded in the battle.

Another Afghan soldier was killed by a mine in neighbouring Uruzgan. Three militants and two police officers were also reported killed in Helmand.