Afghanistan Part 3

Afghan factions opposed to the Taliban met at a United Nations-sponsored conference in Bonn, Germany in December 2001 and agreed to restore stability and governance to Afghanistan--creating an interim government and establishing a process to move toward a permanent government. Under the "Bonn Agreement," an Afghan Interim Authority was formed and took office in Kabul on December 22, 2001 with Hamid Karzai as Chairman. The Interim Authority held power for approximately 6 months while preparing for a nationwide Grand Council (Loya Jirga) in mid-June 2002 that decided on the structure of a Transitional Authority. The Transitional Authority headed by President Hamid Karzai renamed the government as the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA). One of the TISA's primary achievements was the drafting of a constitution that was ratified by a Constitutional Loya Jirga on January 4, 2004. On October 9, 2004 Afghanistan held its first national democratic presidential election; more than 8 million Afghans voted - 41% women. Karzai was announced the official winner on November 3 and inaugurated on December 7 for a 5-year term as Afghanistan's first democratically elected president and on December 7, 2004 the country was renamed the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Elections were held on September 18, 2005 for the "Wolesi Jirga" (lower house) of Afghanistan's new bicameral National Assembly and for the country's 34 provincial councils; about 53% of the 12.5 million registered voters turned out (the National Assembly's "Meshrano Jirga"-upper house is created by the provincial councils and presidential appointments). The first democratically elected National Assembly since 1969 was inaugurated on December 19, 2005. The second national democratic presidential and provincial council elections were held in August 2009 and National Assembly elections were held September 2010. Hamid Karzai's main competitor, Abdullah Abdullah, forced a presidential run-off to be scheduled but then withdrew. On November 2, 2009 officials of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) declared Karzai President of Afghanistan for another 5-year term; for the first time the elections were coordinated by the IEC, with assistance from the UN; 15.6 million people had registered to vote - roughly half of the country's population and 35% to 38% of the registered voters were women.

Afghanistan’s destabilizing factors include activities by the Taliban, other insurgents and al-Qaeda. The government's authority is growing although its ability to deliver necessary social services remains largely dependent on funds from the international donor community. In June 2006 Afghanistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed on a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program for 2006-2009 that focused on maintaining macroeconomic stability, boosting growth, and reducing poverty. The IMF suspended credit programs in Afghanistan following the collapse and discovery of widespread fraud at the country’s largest bank, Kabul Bank. Following regulatory action by the Government of Afghanistan to address the banking crisis, the IMF approved a new extended credit facility in November 2011. The new $133 million program is designed to enable progress toward a stable and sustainable macroeconomic position, assist in the management of the economic impact of withdrawal of international forces and address governance and accountability issues. Donors pledged continued assistance for the rebuilding of the country at the June 2008 international Afghanistan support conference in Paris. Overall the international community has made multi-year reconstruction and security assistance pledges to Afghanistan totaling over $100 billion (US assistance for reconstruction from fiscal year 2001 to the present totaled over $72 billion including support for security services). With international community support from more than 49 countries participating in Operation Enduring Freedom and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) the government's capacity to secure Afghanistan's borders and maintain internal order is increasing. Reform of the army and police to include training is an extensive and ongoing process and the US is working with NATO and international partners to further develop the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). As of October 2011 training and equipping programs for the ANSF remained at a steady pace to meet the objectives of having 195,000 Afghan National Army (ANA) and 157,000 Afghan National Police (ANP) by November 2012. On March 22, 2011 President Karzai announced the first group of provinces and cities where primary security responsibility would be transferred from the international community to the ANSF; Afghan forces took the lead in these areas in July 2011. A second group of provinces, cities, and districts for transition was announced in November 2011. With the completion of the first and second stages of transition, almost half the Afghan population will live in areas where primary security rests with the ANSF. By the end of 2014, Afghan forces will have the lead for security across the entire country. Now let’s looks at the events of the past few months.

On November 15, 2011 Afghan officials reported the arrest of a Taliban spokesman. On November 19 the Afghanistan National Assembly backs a long-term security pact with the US and 100s of Afghans protest. On December 6, a holy day in Afghanistan, 2 suicide bombers killed at least 58 Muslim Shiites and injured over 150. On December 21-5 NATO members are killed in a roadside bombing; December 23-10,000 US troops were pulled ahead of schedule and on December 29 a man in an Afghan army uniform killed 2 NATO troops. On December 30 NATO/Afghan raids captured 11 Taliban commanders. On January 4, 2012 it’s reported that the Taliban is to open an office in Qatar to hold talks with US. On January 6-4 NATO troops were killed in a bombing.