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There are currently 22 countries contributing to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) - the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan sanctioned by the UN Security Council (UNSCR 1386) on Dec. 20, 2001. These countries are: Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Croatia is also expected to dispatch troops to ISAF soon. The table below
shows 4,829 troops as of Dec. 4, 2002, as well as the numbers of personnel currently committed by contributing countries.
ISAF, which works closely with
the United Nations and the Afghan interim government, and acts under Chapter
VII of the UN Charter carries out three principal tasks:
- Provides aid to the interim government in developing national security structures while
providing a stable environment for the development of an interim Afghan government.
- Assists with Afghanistan's reconstruction.
- Assists in developing and training future Afghan security forces.
The United Kingdom served as ISAF's first lead nation from December 2001 to June 20, 2002, when command was handed over to Turkey, the force's current leader. Turkey's assumption of command was authorized on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 1413, May 23, 2002, which also extended ISAF's mandate through Dec. 20, 2002. UN
Security Council Resolution 1444 subsequently extended ISAF until Dec. 20, 2003.
On Nov. 21, Germany and the Netherlands agreed to establish and train a joint German and Dutch contingent that will assume the ISAF III Lead Function (as this third handover of the force's leadership is also known) starting in February
2002. Both countries equally provide the framework for 1 (GE/NL) Corps, headquartered in Münster, Germany. This corps serves as a NATO High Readiness Forces Headquarters and was officially designated an International Military Headquarters to NATO on
Sept. 23, 2002. As well as German and Dutch troops, the Corps HQ also includes personnel from Denmark, Italy, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is currently commanded by German Lt.Gen. Norbert van Heyst. NATO has helped the German and Dutch ISAF contingents with military planning as they both prepare for their new leadership role in Afghanistan, which is expected to last six months. When 1(GE/NL) Corps assumes its new responsibility in February, NATO will also help with communications, logistics, and intelligence gathering and assessment. Some NATO officials are said to be in favor of the organization taking over command of ISAF after Germany and the Netherlands. However, there is no consensus among NATO members for such a move as yet, with France in particular said to be opposed to any role for the alliance in Afghanistan.
ISAF rules of engagement are closely linked to the terms of the Military-Technical Agreement of Dec. 31, 2001. Under this agreement, ISAF has 'complete and unimpeded freedom of movement throughout the territory and airspace of Afghanistan,' however, since its inception, ISAF has been limited to Kabul and its environs. The force's area of operations encompasses 2,250 square kilometers. The Afghan Prime Minister Hamid Karzai, many nongovernmental organizations, and some Afghan warlords have repeatedly called for the force to be allowed to operate beyond Kabul, in the hope that the relative security enjoyed in the Afghan capital could be expanded countrywide, ending the factional fighting which has sporadically erupted since the Taliban's ouster. International and U.S. military officials have been wary of dispatching ISAF troops to other cities — something that would require and amendment to the UN resolution that established the force — although this opposition appears to be slowly eroding. Despite this, the United States is to expand it own military's civil affairs and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan rather than endorse any ISAF expansion. British troops are reported to be joining their American counterparts in this enhanced civil affairs initiative, with a pilot scheme in Gardez to be extended to Bamiyan and Kunduz, and later Herat, Jalalabad, and Mazar e-Sharif if successful.
ISAF's current commander, Turkish Maj. Gen. Akin Zorlu, recently provided a briefing on the force's activities during
the first five months of his country's leadership. These activities include the maintenance of regular contact with senior Afghan and UN officials. ISAF is also involved in the Joint Coordinating Body and the Committee for Intelligence Coordination, which meet periodically to discuss security issues, intelligence matters, and coordinated actions among these groups.
Three ISAF battalion-level task forces operate in Kabul — a Turkish task force in the west; a German in the north,
center, and northwest; and a French, also in the north. An Italian force protection company also operates in the center of the city. Typically, ISAF carries out 45 patrols per day on a 24-hour basis. These are conducted mainly on foot, and almost
70 percent of them are carried out jointly with Afghan police. Random check points also feature heavily in ISAF operations, as does advising Afghanistan's security forces, and carrying out security checks prior to public events and VIP visits.
Bodyguards for the former Afghan king have been given firearms training by ISAF, with some 667 Afghan ministerial bodyguards also receiving close protection training, and 100 more from the Ministry of the Interior soon to be trained by
Turkish troops. Another 50 bodyguards are also to be instructed by specialist Italian teams from ISAF.
ISAF also assists with the training and establishment of the Afghan National Army. While the United States (a non-ISAF contributor) is the lead nation on this, France and the United Kingdom have also contributed, as have Turkey. Germany has the lead on forming a national Afghan police force — a process that the Turks may soon contribute to also.
As well as assisting with the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan's Central Region Winterization Task Force, ISAF is also aiding the Afghan authorities with operations related to the introduction of a new national currency last October, and distributes 50,000 free copies of a publication called 'ISAF News' every two weeks.
In addition the force runs two radio stations — Radyo Turkiyem and Sadahje Azadi (Voice of Freedom) — and an extensive Civil-Military Cooperation program, and continues to confiscate and dispose of significant quantities of weapons and ammunition. As of Nov. 1, 2002 ISAF has destroyed some 107,000 rounds of assorted ammunition. Such activities helped lead to the lifting of Kabul's 23 year-old nighttime curfew on Nov. 23, 2002.
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