The top US military officer said on Sunday that Afghan militants of the anti-American Haqqani network were finding it harder to move into Afghanistan but warned that their safe havens in Pakistan still posed a risk to the decade-old war effort.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, traveled earlier in the day to eastern Afghanistan where Haqqani militants are attacking US forces. “The overall goal has been to make it much more difficult for the Haqqani network to penetrate directly in what has previously been called sort of this ‘jet stream’ between Pakistan, right through Khost (province) into Kabul,” Mullen told a news conference in the Afghan capital.
Moreover, the United States’ top military officer warned that some Afghan institutions central to the transition of power from foreign to local forces are corrupt. He highlighted lack of good governance in many parts of Afghanistan. He also spoke specifically about Afghan institutions involved in the transition of power from international to Afghan troops and officials, which will eventually see all foreign combat forces leave by the end of 2014.
Some countries including the US have already started troop withdrawals as part of the transition process. “I think it’s fair to say that in the main, Afghan government officials must work on becoming more responsive to the needs and the aspirations of their people,” Mullen said.
“We know that some agencies and institutions vital to transition are infiltrated and subverted by criminal patronage networks.” He added “We must end impunity for criminals who are subverting the state and victimising the Afghans.”
As well as the security handover to the Afghan police and army, the transition process also includes a wide range of local and national government bodies taking on new responsibilities from foreign officials.
Mullen acknowledged that US “inattention” had contributed to the problem. The US government has spent $51.8 billion on aid to Afghanistan since 2002, much of which goes through contractors. Experts say corruption is an endemic problem among many officials in Afghanistan and that the government and foreign powers must do more to combat it.
