DT
World 9
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2015
GERMANY
FACTBOX
14 years in the Afghan quagmire America’s longest war began in Afghanistan 14 years ago, sucking in hundreds of thousands of troops and costing Washington billions of dollars and huge political capital. President Barack Obama’s announcement on Thursday he was delaying the pullout of US troops beyond 2016 marks the umpteenth change of strategy aimed at stopping the Afghan quagmire from turning into an all-out military fiasco. Here are some key facts about the conflict--
US troops in Afghanistan President Barack Obama says he would delay the pullout of a 9,800-strong US force beyond 2016
Taliban attack zones
Cost of war
Washington has poured tens of billions of dollars into the Afghan conflict, split between pure military expenditure, reconstruction and development. No overall figure exists but partial numbers that are publicly available give an idea of scale. A Congressional report dated August 17 this year states that “through the end of FY2014, the US provided about $100bn to Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban.” Around 60% was used to equip and train the Afghan army, it said. For fiscal year 2015, which ended on September 30, the figure was $5.7bn. As part of the process of handing over to Afghan forces, the Department of Defence “disposed of about $36bn worth of US military equipment,” the report said.
Deployment history
Kunduz
Thousands
Baghlan
KABUL
100
499
US troops killed
418
Jalalabad
Ghazni
Boots on the ground
Washington ordered troops into Afghanistan in October 2001, the month after the 9/11 attacks. Some 1,000 US soldiers were deployed in November. Their numbers reached 10,000 the following year and rose steadily through the decade, reaching almost 70,000 by 2009, alongside the forces of Nato allies. That year Obama launched the so-called “surge” in Afghanistan, ordering in another 30,000 troops to battle al-Qaeda and a resurgent Taliban. As US troop numbers peaked at 100,000, Obama announced his intention to pull out of the country starting in July 2011. Following through on that plan, the US had planned to scale back to an embassy-only presence by the end of 2016.
Support zones
Analysis published by the Institute for the Study of War April-September 2015
317
80
310
60
Kandahar
40
155 99
January
12
49
2001 2002
48
98
127
117
20
52
55 16
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Human toll
The war in Afghanistan has claimed 2,372 American lives, according to the specialist website iCasualties. Afghans have suffered greatly from over a decade of war. No official toll exists but independent estimates suggest the conflict has claimed 26,000 civilian lives. The overall human toll in Afghanistan -- taking into account civilians, military and insurgent deaths -- is estimated at 91,000 since 2001.
Broken trust
As the conflict became bogged down, the US failed to win the trust of the Afghan people, repelled by the continuing loss of civilian lives. Among the bloodiest single incidents, on August 22, 2008, 90 civilians were killed in a US bombing in the west of the country. On March 11, 2012 an American soldier murdered 16 civilians in Kandahar province, sparking a surge in anger towards foreign forces. And on October 3 this year, an Amer-
2012
2013
2014 2015*
*As of Oct 16
Source : iCasualties/BrookingsAfghanistanIndex/ISW
ican bombing hit a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), claiming the lives of 24 patients and medics. Double failure? Recent Taliban offensives, most spectacularly in Kunduz in the north, made painfully obvious the inability of Afghan forces to enforce security. Just as obvious was the failure of US efforts to train up an independent Afghan army in time for the planned drawdown of American troops. Obama admitted Thursday that “Afghan forces are still not as strong as they need to be.” Security aside, Afghanistan remains wracked by endemic corruption, with crumbling state institutions. “We cannot separate the importance of governance with the issues of security,” Obama said. “The more effectively these reforms happen, the better off the security situation’s going to be.” l
Source: AFP
FOCUS
Why The Donald? US Republicans explain their Trump fever n AFP, Richmond The boundless enthusiasm for American real estate tycoon Donald Trump, the brash billionaire who leads the Republican White House race, can no longer be explained as a passing fad. Why do supporters admire him so? Many cite his personal success, his immunity from special interests, a grassroots populism, and his famous disregard for political etiquette. Four months after launching his campaign, the 69-year-old Trump is the preferred presidential candidate of roughly one in four Republicans.
Business savvy
Trump never hesitates to tout his own triumphs, whether in the polls or his sprawling international property empire. “That’s the kind of thinking we need in the country!” he boomed
reminded the crowd he is “not controlled by anybody.” For his fans, such independence is crucial. They applaud that he owes nothing to special interests or wealthy donors who would demand favors in return.
America first
Wednesday, tapping a fingertip to his temple. The word “businessman” reflexively crosses the lips of his supporters, assured it is a measure of his competence. Trump, they said, would do far better at “managing” Russia’s Vladimir Putin than US President Barack Obama has.
Independence
Donald Trump, a billionaire many times over,
Supporters embrace Trump’s slogan, “Make America great again,” and his policy planks that include deporting undocumented immigrants, winning trade wars with China and Japan, and lowering taxes.
Politically incorrect
Finally, there is the provocative Trump style, the satisfaction supporters get in hearing him say aloud what many Americans think but keep to themselves. “Politically correct is just destroying us,” says Matthew Weiner, a defence contractor. l
Merkel calls for ‘fair burdensharing’ in refugee crisis German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the burden of Europe’s migration crisis has to be shared equally, expressing hope that EU countries will live up to their promises of stepping up contributions to help solve the issue. “I hope we will get clear signals that all countries will fulfill their financial commitments and that all countries are also ready to provide manpower,” she says ahead of talks in Brussels with her EU counterparts. “Only a few countries currently have very, very many refugees and if they then also have to provide all of the staff resources at the external [EU] borders, then this I think would not be what we understand fair burden-sharing to be,” she adds. -DPA
UNITED KINGDOM
Cameron to pen EU wish-list in November British Prime Minister David Cameron sought to defuse fellow EU leaders’ frustration over a lack of detail in his demand for new membership terms from the bloc by promising on Thursday to send them his wish-list in writing in early November. Cameron says his bid to renegotiate relations with the bloc it joined in 1973 is “bloody hard work”, but many officials across the European Union have expressed irritation that London has yet to spell out specific proposals since Cameron was re-elected in May. -Reuters
REST OF THE EUROPE
Migrant shot dead trying to enter Bulgaria A man travelling with a large group of refugees from Afghanistan was shot by border guards near Bulgarian town of Sredets late on Thursday and died on his way to the hospital, the interior ministry said on Friday. Georgi Kostov, the chief secretary of the interior ministry, told national radio that the would-be refugees were aged between 20 and 30, were “probably” Afghans, and were all detained and in good condition. -Reuters
THE UNITED STATES
Clinton may tap Julian Castro as running mate US Democratic Presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on Thursday hinted that she may pick Julian Castro, the incumbent Housing and Urban Development Secretary, as her vice president if she wins the Democratic nomination, saying she is “going to really look hard at him for anything, because that’s how good he is.” Appearing with Clinton at a later “Latinos for Hillary” rally, Castro said he has long respected her ability to appeal to people of all backgrounds. “Through the years she has always, always been there for us, and today we’re here for her,” said Castro, who is the second member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet to endorse Clinton along with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. -Reuters
REST OF THE AMERICAS
Poll: Run-off likely in Argentina’s presidential race
The Argentinian ruling party’s candidate Daniel Scioli maintains a commanding lead in the presidential race but still lacks enough voter support to win outright in the first round, a recent poll by the Poliarquia consultancy showed. Scioli, a moderate Peronist from President Cristina Fernandez’s Front for Victory Party, has support from 37.1% of voters while his nearest rival Mauricio Macri trails with 26.2%. -Reuters