fatman17
PDF THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 32,563
- Reaction score
- 98
- Country
- Location
Jane's Information Group
First co-ordination centre opens along Afghanistan-Pakistan border
Trefor Moss JDW Asia-Pacific Editor - London
Key Points
Cross-border initiatives enabling co-ordination between ISAF, the Afghan Army and Pakistan are coming into effect
The risk of "accidental contacts" in which ISAF or Afghan troops stray into Pakistani territory is being reduced
The first of a series of new border co-ordination centres (BCCs) along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is now operational, an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander has revealed.
Brigadier General Mark Milley, Deputy Commanding General for Operations, ISAF Regional Command East (RC-East), told Jane's on 7 May that the BCCs are "facilities at key points along the border", that will act as "communications hubs" and be manned jointly by ISAF, Afghan and Pakistani forces to help co-ordinate counterinsurgency operations.
The BCCs - around six of which are planned for RC-East's 700 km stretch of the border - are a new initiative in ISAF's strategy of working more closely with Pakistan to deny Taliban forces easy cross-border movement.
All of RC-E's BCCs should be operational by November or December 2008, Gen Milley said.
Gen Milley, who previously served in Afghanistan in 2003, said that "co-operation [with Pakistan] is a lot better now that it was then", citing a series of initiatives to improve cross-border links. As well as a communications system that ISAF and Pakistani forces use to "talk literally every day", he pointed to flag officer-level border security sub-committee meetings, which now occur "as a matter of routine", tripartite meetings involving high-level officers and regular opportunities for ISAF and Afghan officers to meet their Pakistani counterparts.
The need for greater communication between Pakistan and ISAF was most recently highlighted on 24 March, when a joint ISAF-Afghan operation spilled across the border into Pakistan's tribal Bajaur region, resulting in the death of a Pakistani soldier and provoking widespread public anger. This followed a number of airstrikes by US unmanned aerial vehicles on the Pakistani side of the line, which also drew local criticism.
"The effect of all these systems [should be to] reduce the chance of accidental contact," said Gen Milley, adding that significant efforts were being made to work with Pakistan and avoid similar incidents in the future. His forces did not conduct any missions across the border, he said.
The ability of Pakistan-based insurgents to attack ISAF troops in Afghanistan and then escape back across the border is widely seen as one of the main threats to security in the country. Gen Milley accepted that the Taliban had "carved out some safe havens on the Pakistani side of the border". Yet while saying that "from a practical standpoint I don't see the border 'being sealed' ", he expressed confidence that the new initiatives would be effective in tackling the problem.
However, Seth Jones, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, told Jane's that for the time being ISAF's inability to cross over into Pakistan was "a huge constraint". He also questioned the Pakistanis' will to tackle militants in the tribal areas, saying there were "political incentives [for the Pakistani government] not to go after these local groups". Until the border situation was resolved effectively, he added, "the prognosis for Afghanistan is fairly bleak".
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte also raised the issue on 5 May, telling Islamabad that the US would "not be satisfied until all the violent extremism emanating from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas is brought under control". Pakistan's tribal areas were "being used as a platform for plotting and executing international terrorist activity", he warned.
Gen Milley, though, said he remained "very optimistic about achieving success" in Afghanistan. "The enemy doesn't offer a viable alternative to the people of Afghanistan," he said, "the people reject these groups."
He also voiced optimism about the progress of the Afghan National Army (ANA), praising the two ANA corps operating inside RC-East. "We don't do any operations without the Afghan Army and we don't take the lead. Afghan commanders have taken the reins in a lot of ways."
He also looked forward to receiving the pledged French and Polish reinforcements in RC-East and said that the "perception of a widening insurgency in Afghanistan" was inaccurate and that the rise in violence brought by the Taliban's 'spring offensive' was "within seasonal norms".
First co-ordination centre opens along Afghanistan-Pakistan border
Trefor Moss JDW Asia-Pacific Editor - London
Key Points
Cross-border initiatives enabling co-ordination between ISAF, the Afghan Army and Pakistan are coming into effect
The risk of "accidental contacts" in which ISAF or Afghan troops stray into Pakistani territory is being reduced
The first of a series of new border co-ordination centres (BCCs) along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is now operational, an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander has revealed.
Brigadier General Mark Milley, Deputy Commanding General for Operations, ISAF Regional Command East (RC-East), told Jane's on 7 May that the BCCs are "facilities at key points along the border", that will act as "communications hubs" and be manned jointly by ISAF, Afghan and Pakistani forces to help co-ordinate counterinsurgency operations.
The BCCs - around six of which are planned for RC-East's 700 km stretch of the border - are a new initiative in ISAF's strategy of working more closely with Pakistan to deny Taliban forces easy cross-border movement.
All of RC-E's BCCs should be operational by November or December 2008, Gen Milley said.
Gen Milley, who previously served in Afghanistan in 2003, said that "co-operation [with Pakistan] is a lot better now that it was then", citing a series of initiatives to improve cross-border links. As well as a communications system that ISAF and Pakistani forces use to "talk literally every day", he pointed to flag officer-level border security sub-committee meetings, which now occur "as a matter of routine", tripartite meetings involving high-level officers and regular opportunities for ISAF and Afghan officers to meet their Pakistani counterparts.
The need for greater communication between Pakistan and ISAF was most recently highlighted on 24 March, when a joint ISAF-Afghan operation spilled across the border into Pakistan's tribal Bajaur region, resulting in the death of a Pakistani soldier and provoking widespread public anger. This followed a number of airstrikes by US unmanned aerial vehicles on the Pakistani side of the line, which also drew local criticism.
"The effect of all these systems [should be to] reduce the chance of accidental contact," said Gen Milley, adding that significant efforts were being made to work with Pakistan and avoid similar incidents in the future. His forces did not conduct any missions across the border, he said.
The ability of Pakistan-based insurgents to attack ISAF troops in Afghanistan and then escape back across the border is widely seen as one of the main threats to security in the country. Gen Milley accepted that the Taliban had "carved out some safe havens on the Pakistani side of the border". Yet while saying that "from a practical standpoint I don't see the border 'being sealed' ", he expressed confidence that the new initiatives would be effective in tackling the problem.
However, Seth Jones, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, told Jane's that for the time being ISAF's inability to cross over into Pakistan was "a huge constraint". He also questioned the Pakistanis' will to tackle militants in the tribal areas, saying there were "political incentives [for the Pakistani government] not to go after these local groups". Until the border situation was resolved effectively, he added, "the prognosis for Afghanistan is fairly bleak".
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte also raised the issue on 5 May, telling Islamabad that the US would "not be satisfied until all the violent extremism emanating from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas is brought under control". Pakistan's tribal areas were "being used as a platform for plotting and executing international terrorist activity", he warned.
Gen Milley, though, said he remained "very optimistic about achieving success" in Afghanistan. "The enemy doesn't offer a viable alternative to the people of Afghanistan," he said, "the people reject these groups."
He also voiced optimism about the progress of the Afghan National Army (ANA), praising the two ANA corps operating inside RC-East. "We don't do any operations without the Afghan Army and we don't take the lead. Afghan commanders have taken the reins in a lot of ways."
He also looked forward to receiving the pledged French and Polish reinforcements in RC-East and said that the "perception of a widening insurgency in Afghanistan" was inaccurate and that the rise in violence brought by the Taliban's 'spring offensive' was "within seasonal norms".
