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.
from the September 20, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
The regional police commander complains that his men are spread too thin and obliged to both catch criminals and "fight against terrorists," though with far fewer privileges than the Army.
"The ANP do not have the [protective] gear, but they are not fighting in the same trenches as the ANA," said police Maj. Gen. Abdul Fatah Farogh.
US soldiers embedded as mentors with Afghan police units say they see slow but steady progress – and often more hope than among similar units in Iraq. The Afghan police recruits "are good guys, but they are poorly trained, poorly fed, and poorly paid," says US Army Sgt. Willie Davis of Dillon, S.C.
"It's an uphill battle," says Sgt. First Class Jeff Bailey of Syracuse, N.Y., noting that while the police rarely get a cold reception during searches, the "noticeable lack of military-aged males when we roll in" reflects distrust of the units.
Afghan police often overhear radio chatter and have spoken directly to insurgents, asking them to come down from the mountains to "talk," says Sgt. Bailey. Once the insurgents taunted in reply: "We'll send down suicide bombers."
The episode shows one challenge to the budding police force. "You come here and spend money in the daytime," a storekeeper told Spc. Stephen Myers of Myrtle Beach, S.C., when he was patrolling with Afghan police. "The Taliban come and spend money at night."
Signs of Taliban in their midst
And militants are not always up in the mountains, if the hunch of Afghan officers conducting searches in Chawni is any measure. One house exhibited steel beams in the roof, brick walls, a porcelain sink in the hall, tinted windows and electricity – all uncommon in these poor parts, raising police suspicions.
Qomandan, a young man who wore a flashy, kitschy gold watch, said 45 people lived here; five brothers' families.
"We would appreciate if you would help the police in this area," Blando told him. "Yes," the man replied. "They have hard work in this area."
But the Afghan police didn't buy it. Hours later, they drove by the compound's ornate metal front door shouting "Taliban! Taliban!" to each other, knowingly.
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