New NATO guidelines put emphasis on protecting Afghans

Aug 27, 2009, 13:08 GMT

   Kabul - New guidelines for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan orders the alliance's troops to make 'protecting the people' their mission, rather than killing Taliban insurgents, which has created 'more enemies.'

   Eight years after the fall of the Taliban regime, the commander for the more than 100,000 NATO-led forces in the country called for a change in tactics to defeat the Taliban, which has become more powerful and grown in number since its ouster.

   'Earn the support of the people and the war is won, regardless of how many militants are killed or captured,' said the new guidelines signed by US General Stanley McChrystal, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan.

   'An insurgency cannot be defeated by attrition,' he said, adding, 'Security may not come from overwhelming firepower, and forces protection many mean more personal interaction with Afghan people, not less.'

   The guidelines were issued after an increased number of Afghan civilians lost their lives during international military operations in the country.

   President Hamid Karzai, who is leading in partial results from last week's presidential election, has repeatedly pleaded with foreign forces to avoid killing civilians during their operations and has vehemently criticized their searches of Afghan houses.

   During the presidential campaign last month, Karzai promised that if he won re-election, he would convene a 'loya jirga,' or a general assembly, where he would ask the people to make it clear 'who is the host and who is the guest.'

   Echoing Karzai's concerns, McChrystal emphasized in the new guidelines, 'We must change the way that we think, act and operate. This is their country and we are their guest.'

   'We need to understand the people, see things though their eyes,' the general said. 'It is their fears, frustrations and expectations that we must address.'

   'We will not simply win by killing insurgents,' he said.

   Calling on the 42 nations serving in Afghanistan, McChrystal also said, 'Think of how you would expect a foreign army to operate in your neighborhood, among your families and your children and act accordingly.'

   He said that by killing insurgents and civilians in the past eight years, the international forces had created more enemies because their relatives had sought vengeance.

   'We sow the seeds of our own demise,' he warned.

   More than 20,000 new US forces joined the battle in Afghanistan this year. The new forces along with British soldiers moved deeper into Taliban territory in the south in early July, but their advance was soon stalled by mounting casualties, caused primarily by roadside bombs.

   'Earn the support of the people and the war is won, regardless of how many militants are killed or captured,' McChrystal said.

   He ordered NATO forces to 'keep the insurgents off balance, take the fight to their sanctuaries and prevent them from affecting the population.'

   Afghan officials have repeatedly called on international forces to move their battleground to tribal areas of Pakistan, where, they said, the militants have their command headquarters.

   While NATO military leaders have admitted that the insurgents receive fresh fighters from among the tribal people on the other side of the border, they have so far limited their response to conducting airstrikes carried out by unmanned drones.