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U.S. Marine Corps General James Jones, NATO?s supreme allied commander in Europe briefs the press August 17 (©AP/WWP)
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17 August 2006
Combat, Rebuilding Both Crucial in Afghanistan, NATO's Jones Says, August 17, 2006(NATO's supreme allied commander briefs on current missions)
By Vince Crawley
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- NATO troops in Afghanistan face a “test of wills” as they take over security throughout much of the country, says U.S. Marine Corps General James Jones, NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe.
Along with fighting a deadly mix of militants and narcotics traffickers, NATO troops also are placing high emphasis on reconstruction missions, Jones said during a Pentagon news conference August 17.
The focus on reconstruction will allow Afghanistan’s people can see tangible results of the five-year-old international presence in their country, Jones said.
He said there are two rules he lives by: “Don't make any more enemies than you've already got, and don't do anything that's not good for the people.” (See related article.)
NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) took military control of southern Afghanistan on July 31 and plans to provide security for the entire country by the end of the year. Since July 31, 11 NATO soldiers have died in fighting and another 50 have been wounded, Jones said. In addition, there have been two non-battle deaths and 35 non-battle injuries, he said. (See related article.)
“We are engaging with desperate elements,” Jones said. These include “certainly the Taliban, but also … violent narcotics cartels [and] criminal elements.”
NATO commanders and reconstruction teams are encouraging Afghanistan’s national government, led by President Hamid Karzai, “to take on … some corruption issues in local governments” and to strengthen police forces, Jones said. (See related article.)
“This is a strategic moment in the southern part of Afghanistan,” he said. “It’s a test of wills. Certainly, the opposition is testing NATO to see if we do in fact have the will and credibility to stand and fight.” And, he added, “evidence so far” shows “that the answer is overwhelmingly ‘yes.’”
However, creating a stable Afghanistan will require more than just military successes, Jones said. Battlefield victories must be followed up by reconstruction missions. Otherwise, there will be few lasting results “if we just bring the military in and nothing follows it from the standpoint of reconstruction,” he said.
Areas of emphasis include creating “a safe and secure environment, taking on the drug problems, taking on the crime, the corruption, taking on the efforts of al-Qaida and the Taliban,” Jones said.
NATO is stressing that nonmilitary elements of the international community “simply have to be able to expand as quickly as we are” to counter instability, he said.
“There’s no point in … making the efforts that we’re making in the southern region if it’s not accompanied by some tangible evidence of change for the people,” Jones said. “So this is … a classic battle of hearts and minds.”
Jones said he expects to retire from the U.S. military shortly after the NATO summit in Riga, Latvia, in November.
For more information on U.S. policy, see Western Europe and Rebuilding Afghanistan.
