Afghan leaders divided over peace force
Afghan leaders were divided today over how long the British-led multinational security force should remain in the war-ravaged nation.
The country’s new premier, Hamid Karzai, said the force was welcome to stay for as long as it takes to restore order.
Defence minister Mohammed Fahim had indicated that international peacekeepers were welcome in Afghanistan for no longer than six months.
But Karzai quickly responded, saying that they would stay ‘‘as long as we need them, six months as a minimum’’.
Their presence, he said, was ‘‘a commitment to peace in Afghanistan, to stability in Afghanistan, and once that is accomplished they will go’’.
Afghanistan needed the instruments of controlling law and order, said Mr Karzai, adding that tribal leaders from southern Afghanistan had met him and asked for ‘‘the continued presence of the troops’’.
The first small contingent of British Royal Marines is patrolling government buildings already.
The international force, which Britain is due to head for three months before handing over the leadership role to one of its international partners, is expected to number 3,000 to 5,000. Britain has indicated that eventually it will send about 1,500 troops.
But Fahim was not alone in displaying irritation at the presence of coalition troops on Afghan soil.
In eastern Afghanistan, US officials believe the caves of the Tora Bora area, now cleared of active al Qaida fighters, may contain valuable information about Osama bin Laden’s network, and plan to use US troops to dig out the caves which collapsed under US bombing.
But Mohammed Zaman, the defence chief for Nangarhar province, said additional US soldiers were not needed.
‘‘This is our job and we have started doing it already,’’ Zaman said at his headquarters in Jalalabad. ‘‘This is our country and we don’t need American soldiers here.’’
Other Afghans indicated that they strongly supported international peacekeepers.
‘‘We don’t care if soldiers from everywhere in the world come to Afghanistan to bring peace. We just don’t want Afghan soldiers right now,’’ said Mohammed Nawab, a former commander during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
In an attempt to heal some of the deep divisions left by decades of conflict, Mr Karzai today named a key warlord as deputy defence minister.
The appointment of Rashid Dostum brings into the interim government one of its early critics.
General Dostum, an Uzbek who controls northern Afghanistan’s largest city of Mazar-e-Sharif, had been angry because three key ministries - defence, foreign affairs and interior - went to the minority Tajik group from Panjshir valley.
‘‘I have just signed the letter naming him deputy minister of defence,’’ Mr Karzai said. ‘‘It is the first step toward a national army.’’
Meanwhile, the Australian government today increased security alert levels and issued a general warning after obtaining information of a possible terrorist threat to US or British interests.
‘‘The federal government has received information to suggest there may be a potential terrorist threat in Australia, possibly to United States and United Kingdom interests,’’ Attorney-General Daryl Williams said in a statement.
Mr Williams said the information was unsubstantiated and not specific to any type of threat or location, but was sufficiently credible to be taken seriously.
