Month: September 2011

No doubt, the Americans are grappling with loss, defeat and problems in Afghanistan. The Americans-led forces which are numbering nearly 150,000 troops and their Special Forces have not delivered. Neither they did turn the tide against the Mujahideen, nor the Afghan army which have been trained by the Americans with expenditure that runs into billions of dollars, acquired the capacity to protect government buildings and maintain security of government officials. Even they can’t maintain writ of the government   in proximity as much as 5 kilometers from provincial centers and cities.
According to a report published by The Washington Post on September 5, a minuscule numbers of Afghan National Army soldiers report to duty after going on home leave. The report adds that 24,590 soldiers defected in the past six months of the current year while last year, during the same period, the defection rate stood at 11,423. The Washington Post further elucidates that the growing defection in the Kabul Army which reaches thousands of troops, has caused great consternations among the Americans rulers, because they think it would make it difficult to effect the transition process of security responsibility from the foreign troops to the Afghan forces in view of the unprecedented defection rate in the so-called National Afghan Army. This will bring the very process of security responsibility transition into question. Similarly, the Wall StreetJournal writes that misbehavior of the Afghan national Army officers with foot soldiers is one of the main causes of defection in addition to other factors of defection that they are facing.
Sources reveal that non-availability of sufficient number of doctors, mistreatment of medical personnel with wounded soldiers and the rampant corruption among the military officers are factors that have endangered the life of many injured soldiers. The Daily paper adds that even some wounded soldiers have starved to death in military hospitals.
Some time ago, Associated Press, reported that during the chairmanship of Eftally, a large quantity of medicines and medical equipments valued at $ 42 millions were embezzled in the 400-bedded military hospital in Kabul. The AP continues to say that such wholesale embezzlement and inefficient medical treatment of soldiers wounded in battle fields lead to defection among the troops. This causes despondency among the troops and gives rise to defection.
According to military experts, such huge exodus of troops leaves a negative impact on the morale of the troops and ultimately morphs into a dynamism for disintegration of large armies. They opine that even defection of a single soldier during the time of war, has negative impact on the morale of a whole contingent, rendering it timid and void of motive.
It is a fact, that Americans’ efforts for uplift of the Kabul National Army both from an angle of quality and quantity has met failure as well as their other efforts for augmentation of security personnel have gone awry. The same is the case with all other essential pinnacles of the Kabul regime which are speedily heading into a collapse.
No remedy and strategy of the Americans is proving to deliver. Even there are now obvious rifts in the national army. If the troop defection tempo continues unabatedly and the Mujahideen momentum keeps on without let-up, the Americans dream of staying in barracks and leaving the Afghan National Army to fight against Mujahideen will get nowhere.
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