AFG2 01

 

 

Memorandum from the Ministry of Defence

 

 

 

ANNEX A

 

 

MEMORANDUM FOR HOUSE OF COMMONS DEFENCE COMMITTEE PROVIDING AN UPDATE OF OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN

 

 

UK DEPLOYMENT

 

1. The UK has recently handed over command of ISAF to a composite headquarters (drawn from different nations) under the command of US General Dan McNeil. The HQ of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC), under the command of General David Richards, led ISAF for 9 months from May of last year. Once the roulement of 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, by 12 Mechanized Brigade is finished, and the Command Group of the ARRC has completed its withdrawal, the overall scale of the UK's commitment in Afghanistan will remain constant at around 6,300.  

 

2. The withdrawal of the ARRC has allowed us to increase our troop concentration in other areas, most notably training of the Afghan National Army which is key to our exit strategy. There have also been increases in some command, specialist and support capabilities, such as strategic communications, logistics, and an enhanced UAV capability for use in the South. 

 

 

SECURITY SITUATION

 

3. The security situation across Afghanistan is broadly stable, if fragile in places. Insurgent groups are able to launch small scale local attacks, particularly in the South and East, but at present they do not pose a strategic threat to the long term stability of Afghanistan. The Joint Intelligence Community regularly reviews the security situation across the country.

 

4. The security situation in the South remains fragile with the situation in Helmand proving challenging. However, recent months have seen a sharp reduction in the number of attacks against UK forces, which can be attributed to a combination of the harsh winter season, the slow but steady strengthening of local governance, the poppy planting season and most importantly, the proactive work of UK forces. Manoeuvre Outreach Groups (MOGs) have been deployed across the province, seeking out and engaging with Taliban forces. This has allowed us to inflict significant damage against the Taliban, with intelligence reports suggesting that their fighters are becoming tired and are becoming less supportive of their commanders. Nevertheless, our forces are prepared for an increase in insurgent activity.

 

 

 

FATALITIES

 

5. The death of Lance Corporal Ford on 15^th January brings the total number of UK personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 when operations began to forty-six, of which twenty-five have been classed as killed in action. Since March 2006, when UK forces deployed to Helmand, there have been 41 casualties, 22 of whom were killed in action.

 

MUSA QALEH

 

6. The Musa Qaleh agreement was brokered by former Governor Daud and the tribal elders of Musa Qaleh in October 06. There were no negotiations with the Taliban. In essence the agreement involved an exclusion zone of 5km around the Musa Qaleh District for ISAF forces in return for tribal elders denying Taliban presence in the town. This led to a 143 day period of peace in the town.

 

7. On 02 Feb 06 a limited number of Taliban entered the district centre of Musa Qaleh disrupting the agreement. This was indicative of their dislike of the agreement and it contradicts claims that it had led to the 'Talibanisation' of the district. Our assessment is that this action was against the wishes and interests of the local population. Taliban claims that ISAF breached the agreement are untrue, but, given recent events, the agreement is no longer considered by the Governor of Helmand to be extant.

 

8. This event should be kept in context. This was not a mass assault by the Taliban, nor are they in Musa Qaleh in great strength. They have previously occupied district centres for short periods for propaganda purposes; this is not a novel activity for them. With the support of the local population Governor Wafa of Helmand is trying to find a local solution that enhances the Afghan Government's grip over the area. He is in contact with the Tribal elders over implementation of a protocol which will see his authority, and that of the Government of Afghanistan, increased . He also believes that the Taliban have alienated themselves from the local population which was illustrated recently when Local Mullahs issued a fatwa in favour of the Afghan flag. Carefully targeted strike operations against Taliban leaders by UK and NATO forces have helped strengthen the hand of the tribal elders and the Governor. Karzai, Wafa and COMISAF all support an approach that works with the Musa Qaleh elders and ISAF forces stand ready to assist if requested.

 

 

EQUIPMENT

 

9. We are focused on ensuring that we have the right people and assets deployed in support of our operations. The equipment package for Afghanistan has been agreed by our Chiefs of Staff and we keep it under continual review. Since April 06, over 150 Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) have been approved for Afghanistan, of which 59 have already been delivered. In addition, we conduct substantial periodic Force Level Reviews (FLRs), which examine equipment and personnel levels.

 

 

ARMOURED VEHICLES

 

10. Although it is impossible to protect our service personnel from every eventuality, we do everything possible to provide as much protection as we can. We have recently undertaken a major procurement of new protected vehicles for troops in Afghanistan and Iraq that will give commanders more options to deal with the developing threats. The first element of the new procurement package is to buy 100 VECTOR, our new Pinzgauer-based protected patrol vehicle, for Afghanistan, on top of the 62 already on contract. VECTOR provides good protection and increased mobility and capacity compared with the protected Land Rover known as SNATCH. This makes it very suitable for the rugged terrain and long patrol distances in Afghanistan. VECTOR will be delivered to theatre from late February of this year. The second element is to procure MASTIFF, which meets our requirement for a well-protected, wheeled patrol vehicle, with a less intimidating profile than our tracked vehicles. We are rapidly procuring 108 of these vehicles for use in both Iraq and Afghanistan. These will be delivered to Afghanistan from March.

 

 

HELICOPTERS

 

11. The Secretary of State announced the deployment of two additional Chinooks to Afghanistan and an increase in available helicopter hours on 24 July 2006. Additionally, it has recently been decided that Harriers and Apaches will be extended in Theatre until April 2009. The MoD continually reviews helicopter requirements to ensure that we have sufficient helicopter support to meet current and anticipated tasks, but the current Commander UK Task Force in Helmand, Brigadier Jerry Thomas, has made clear that there are sufficient helicopters available to support UK forces.

 

 

NATO

 

12. At the NATO summit in Riga NATO countries agreed that commanders on the ground must have access to the resources they need to carry out there mission. Thus some member states lifted all their caveats (for example the Dutch and Romanians); and there was an agreement, including from countries like Germany and France, that in any situation where there is an emergency then troops can be deployed in order to help those that are in difficulty. As NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer concluded: "About 26,000 of the total 32,000 NATO ISAF forces are now more useable than they were for combat and non-combat missions,". In the run up to NATO Ministerial Meeting in Seville in early February the US pledged to double its manoeuvre forces in the South and East of Afghanistan in addition to an extra $10.6bn (£5.4bn) to bolster its Afghan aid effort. $5.9 billion of this will be used to train and equip Afghan Security Forces. The other significant announcements included the German decision to deploy six Tornadoes for reconnaissance purposes, a Lithuanian SF package for the South, and more border guards from Italy. Nevertheless significant requirements remain and the Government will continue to actively pursue further contributions from other nations.

 

RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D)

 

13. The UK military presence in Helmand Province is designed to set the security conditions for progress along various lines of operation, such as governance, counter-narcotics, and social/economic development. It also takes an active role in R&D projects relating to these lines of operation. The UK military contribution to the R&D effort is mainly implemented through 28 Engr Regt. R&D activity can be broken down into two categories: Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) and Long Term Development (LTD).

 

14. QIPs are usually short-term, small-scale initiatives which tackle the concerns and priorities of the local community, and are designed to have an immediate and sustainable benefit, as well as contributing to post-conflict stabilisation and enabling a wider and longer-term development agenda. January 2007 saw the approval of the 100^th QIP in Helmand since the programme began in April 2006. Of the £6.48m allocated for QIPs this financial year, we have committed £5m and spent more than £3.7m. Spending on QIPs has increased significantly since the deployment of 28 Engr Regt to theatre and the formation of a Royal Engineer led R&D branch within the Task Force Headquarters. This gives the PRT significantly greater capacity for contract and project management across a wider portfolio of activities. The military may be involved in implementing QIPs across the four strands and are not simply confined to projects authorised against MoD funding.

 

15. As part of the QIPs effort, some Consent Winning Activity (CWA) is carried out. CWA addresses the community's immediate requirements, but does not generally mitigate their fundamental concerns. It aims to gain local good-will, in order to support Force Protection and to enable the engagement required to identify, plan and implement QIPs and LTD. Comd UKTF has authority for the release of up to £40K per month from the QIPs programme for CWA. An example of CWA is rubble clearance in Nowzad.

 

16. Successful QIPs projects so far include:

 

· Setting up vehicle check points

· Providing kit and building facilities for ANSF

· Building security infrastructure for Governor's compound, women's facility

· Constructing school/library facilities

· Constructing a midwifery hostel

· Upgrading Lashkar Gah prison

· Repairing bomb-damage at Directorate of Counter-Narcotics

 

 

17. LTD is addressed at the provincial level through the development of a Provincial Development Plan by the Governor and Provincial Development Council under the guidance of the DfID Development Advisor. This will take place against the backdrop of National Priority Programmes funded centrally through Kabul, as well as bilateral DfID programmes in Helmand, towards which DfID will provide up to £20M p.a. These not only deliver benefit on the ground, but also serve the central purpose of building sustainable capacity through delivering via the GoA and local Afghan administration.

 

 

KAJAKI DAM

 

18. The Kajaki Dam Project is a hydro-electric project which will entail the refurbishment of the power generation turbines and infrastructure at the Kajaki Dam, as well as constructing the power cables to supply Southern Helmand and Kandahar provinces. It aims to provide a sustainable network of reliable and affordable electricity to 1.8m people across the provinces. The power generated will also enable irrigation in the region to the south of Kajaki and triple the amount of arable land which should enable wider cultivation of legal crops, reducing farmers dependence on poppy cultivation. It is USAID's largest project in Afghanistan with a project cost of $180m and will take 3-4 years to complete.

19. UK Forces have been involved in the area around Kajaki in order to set the security situations necessary for the Dam project to proceed. Future operations will be conducted closely alongside ANSF forces and will continue to be focused on disrupting Taliban activity in the area.

 

 

SECURITY SECTOR REFORM

 

 

20. There are some 32,000 trained Afghan National Army (ANA) across Afghanistan, comprised of 9 Brigades. There are also another 4,000 in training. The planned completion date for ANA basic training is December 2007 based on a total of 50,000 troops. However, there are aspirations to increase this number to a total of 70,000 troops with a planned completion date of December 2008. The fielding plan for ANA troops sees them completing their basic training package before deploying to their provincial HQ, whereby they should then spend up to 12 months conducting collective training in order to conduct Brigade level operations. ANA troops have deployed successfully alongside UK forces in operations in the South with UK forces reporting that the ANA have performed admirably.

21. There are 62,000 Afghan National Police (ANP) trained to date with a target of 82,000 to be trained by December 2008. While ANP training is more advanced than ANA training in terms of numbers, the quality of that training has not been as high. This has been noted by ISAF contributing nations, many of whom have been pressing for some time for greater EU engagement in the rule of law sector, so as to co-ordinate the efforts of various EU member states in Afghanistan, and ensure linkages with the work of the European Commission and key partners such as the US. An EU fact-finding mission visited Afghanistan in late 2006 and recommended the deployment of an ESDP mission focussing on policing, but with linkages to the wider rule of law sector. We support key elements of this concept, including that the mission should facilitate the mainstreaming of counter-narcotics, tackle Ministry of Interior reform, establish effective co-ordination with other international efforts and give adequate priority to Kabul with a possible expansion into the provinces. We are pressing for the mission to be deployed as early as possible, ideally in April/May, though the German Presidency believe that June would be a more realistic target. The UK is planning to provide roughly 10% of the police forces necessary for this mission.

 

 

 

COUNTER NARCOTICS

 

22. On 21 January the Afghan Government decided that it would not approve Ground Based Spraying pilots in selected Afghan provinces this year, a position that the UK will support. Manual/ Mechanical eradication has begun in earnest in Afghanistan in 11 provinces including Helmand where the Afghan Eradication Force has begun eradication in the targeted Central districts. Total eradication so far is 2206ha (based on UNODC verified total at 11^th Feb). Eradication is being conducted and managed in a much more orderly fashion than last year, and it has started earlier. There is also much greater Afghan ministerial dialogue than 2006.

 

23. Of course, eradication is only one part of a comprehensive strategy, targeted where there is access to legal rural livelihoods, as set out in the National Drug Control Strategy. We are working with the Afghan Government to ensure that counter narcotics efforts are also integrated across the Afghan rule of law sector. In the last year, we have seen the passage of vital CN legislation, conviction of around 300 traffickers, and an increase in drug related seizures. A high security prison wing is also now operational. Progress is being made but there is much left to do.

 

24. It is going to take a long time to uproot something so deeply entrenched in Afghanistan's culture and economy. And without a strong state, a fully functioning judiciary or a properly trained and manned police force, Afghan capability has been limited. At the opening of the London Conference, President Karzai said "In my view, and in the view of the United Nations that shares it with me, perhaps Afghanistan will need at least 10 years of a strong systematic consistent effort ...in order for us to be free of poppies by that time. So I would give it a decade, at least." It is essential for the international community to increase resources in line with the scale of the problem if we are to tackle more difficult provinces effectively.

 

19 February 2007