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Uphill battle to bolster Afghan police
US soldiers mentoring the fledgling units say they see more hope than in Iraq. The police are striving to win locals' trust, but Taliban influence is strong.
By Scott Peterson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the September 20, 2007 edition
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CHAWNI AND GARDEZ, Afghanistan - Behind one nondescript front door after another, Afghan police backed up by US and Afghan Army soldiers search for weapons, demonstrating a police presence they hope will weaken the grip of militants in this corner of southeast Afghanistan.
In mud-walled compounds, they find an assault rifle hidden in a haystack, ancient single-shot weapons from past Afghan wars, and a half-filled box of Soviet ammunition, pried open like a tin of sardines.
But in one living room, a determined Afghan policeman points to the lock on a trunk, ready to break it. The owner says there are no guns inside, just wedding items – and someone else has the key.
The Afghans make a decision aimed at winning a friend, not creating a new enemy. "The commander is a good man. He's not going to break the lock," US Army Maj. Craig Blando tells the home–owner. "Remember how fair and honest the police were."
"Sometimes it's better to build goodwill," explains Major Blando, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who heads a team of US soldiers working alongside Afghan police units meant to take on permanent security duties here. "That's what we're fighting [for], to get the people to start believing in the police."
Until now, that would have been a leap of faith, in a country where nascent security forces – and local Afghans seen to collaborate with them – are often targeted by Taliban-led insurgents. And despite some progress, key questions remain about the ability of police to hold the line, dogged as they are by meager ranks, corruption, and lower pay than that for Army recruits – not to mention less armor and firepower. Just as in Iraq, US and Afghan commanders say, successful local forces are a prerequisite for US withdrawal.
Monthly police salaries have just been raised to match those of Army soldiers, from $70 to $100, but inequalities rankle. Far more are on payrolls than show up for work. Infighting continues between the police and Army, as Afghan commanders still debate each force's role in fighting "terrorists."
"These people work with the Taliban 90 percent; only 10 percent are willing to work with the government," says 1st Lt. Taj Gul, an officer of the Afghan National Police (ANP) who carries a pistol while his unit knocks on doors in the farming village of Chawni. "They need to use their weapons to keep order, not to undermine it."
In this sweep, the weapons haul collected over two days was small, Afghan officers complained, because a US psychological operations unit broadcast advance warning about the searches. But the real aim was to push out militants and show a government presence – a key step in the US counterinsurgency strategy for Afghanistan.
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