A8
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KLMNO THE WORLD
Afghan forces’ apathy starts to wear on U.S. platoon In Kandahar, corruption, politics and violence trip up military police’s efforts to control Taliban cells
by Ernesto Londoño in kandahar, afghanistan
could be Taliban fighters sifting through American uniforms, gear and weapons. Before he could find what was missing, though, Rathmann would need to battle with an ally, a burden that has become all too common in the country’s second- largest city, the latest focus of U.S. military
F
officials struggling to turn the tide on a worsening con- flict. As the U.S. military sets out to
secure cities including Kandahar, it is relying far more heavily on Afghan forces than at any time in the past nine years, when the American mission focused main- ly on defeating the Taliban in the countryside, rather than securing the population. But the Afghan forces are proving poorly equipped and sometimes unmo- tivated, breeding the same frus- tration U.S. troops felt in Iraq when they began building up se- curity forces beset by corruption, sectarianism, political meddling and militia infiltration. “Can you take us over there?”
Rathmann, of Palm Beach, Fla., pleaded as he tried to persuade an Afghan counterpart to accom- pany the Americans to a nearby lot. Deputy police chief Abdul Na- seer shook his head. “Are you afraid?” Rathmann asked. “You don’t need permission from the security chief to do your job.” The police commander
wouldn’t budge. None of his men would be available either, he ex- plained, because their vehicles had no fuel. As a 31-year-old platoon leader in the military police, Rathmann arrived in Kandahar nearly a year ago, bracing himself and his unit for pitched battles against shad- owy bands of Taliban fighters. In- stead, their war has become a slog. With a larger American of- fensive postponed, firefights have been few and far between. In- stead, the Americans have been battling more vexing enemies: a corruption-ridden police force, the area’s insidious politics and the local government’s apparent misgivings about taking on the Taliban. The United States and other
Western allies still plan to inject hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands more troops into Kandahar and surrounding vil- lages this year to try to wrest con- trol of Taliban strongholds and allow breathing room for the ex- pansion of government services in an area that has been effective- ly lawless for decades.
But the beginning of summer in southern Afghanistan has been
PHOTOS BY ERNESTO LONDONO/THE WASHINGTON POST After suspecting an attack targeting his fellow soldiers in Kandahar, Sgt. Mathew Pogorzelski asks villagers if they heard gunshots. on
washingtonpost.com
On the beat in Kandahar
Follow 1st Lt. James Rathmann and fellow
military police officers on patrol in Kandahar. Visit
washingtonpost.com/world.
ominous. In June alone, at least 53 NATO troops have been killed in the country, most in the south, where the Taliban has increasing- ly resorted to roadside bombings and ambushes to thwart the U.S.- led international force’s efforts. The district governor in Argh- andab, a key ally in NATO’s effort to jump-start governance in Kan- dahar, was killed in a bombing this week. And recent suicide bombings in the province target- ing a police training center and an officer’s wedding killed more than 50 people, including an American civilian police trainer.
Sleeping on the job The rash of violence is sure to
hurt U.S. efforts to build up the provincial government. The gov- ernor’s office has just six employ- ees and subsists on a monthly budget of roughly $20,000. When Rathmann’s battalion arrived a year ago, the city had 600 police officers. It now has
IRAN 0 MILES TURKMEN.
Mazar-e Sharif
Herat Kabul AFGHANISTAN Kandahar PAKISTAN GENE THORP/THE WASHINGTON POST
air conditioners for police sta- tions.
A soldier scans a man’s retina to try to learn his identity after he bypassed a checkpoint. There has been a rash of violence lately.
800, and nearly 1,200 recruits will soon start training. On a recent patrol in the out-
skirts of Kandahar, Rathmann stopped at a police checkpoint that was recently ambushed. Offi- cers were napping on an open field by the side of the road. “What is he doing to prevent his men from getting am- bushed?” Rathmann asked the senior officer at the scene, through an interpreter. The groggy-looking officer
didn’t seem interested in dis- cussing ambushes. Instead, he sheepishly asked the interpreter
to ask Rathmann if the Amer- icans had a spare pair of combat boots.
“Boots!” Rathmann exclaimed.
“You want me to give you my boots? I’m sure they want my underwear, too.” The vast majority of police offi- cers in Kandahar are illiterate. The allocation of fuel they get from the Interior Ministry is ei- ther insufficient or partially sto- len virtually every month. Offi- cers are dependent on NATO troops for everything from fuel, ammunition and bottled water for checkpoints to generators and
DIGEST BURMA
Aung San Suu Kyi, confined, turns 65
Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 65th birthday Saturday locked in her dilapidated lakeside com- pound as calls for her freedom sounded from around the world. President Obama and U.N.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon de- manded Suu Kyi’s release in statements echoed at ral- lies and prayer vigils. Supporters threw a birth- day party at the suburban Rangoon
Suu Kyi planned to celebrate by providing a lunch of chicken curry and an Indian-style flat bread for the three dozen con- struction workers helping to renovate her crumbling house, Nyan Win said.
—Associated Press YEMEN
Militants storm jail, killing at least 11
Supporters urge Aung San Suu Kyi’s release.
home of a fellow opposition member. It was attended by more than 300 people but not the guest of honor. Holding candles and yellow roses, they lit a birthday cake with 65 candles and released 65 doves into the sky while chanting, “Long Live Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.” Plainclothes secu- rity officers watched and video- taped the event. Suu Kyi has spent 15 birthdays
in detention over the past 20 years, mostly under house ar- rest. She is the world’s only im- prisoned Nobel Peace laureate. “It is very sad she cannot cel-
ebrate her birthday in freedom,” her attorney, Nyan Win, said.
Four suspected al-Qaeda gun- men blasted their way into the intelligence headquarters of Yemen’s second-largest city Sat- urday and freed several detain- ees in the group’s most auda- cious operation since a U.S.- backed government crackdown began late last year. The attack on the heavily pro-
tected security complex in the southern port city of Aden killed 11 and bolstered U.S. con- cerns that Yemen’s weak central government might not be up to tackling an increasingly effective foe seemingly able to strike any- where inside or outside the coun- try. “We were hit where we least
expected it,” Yemeni Information Minister Hassan al-Lozy said. “This is a serious escalation from these terrorist elements.” U.S. officials say insurgents, in- cluding Americans, are training in militant camps in Yemen’s vast lawless regions and allying with powerful tribes opposed to the government of President Ali Ab- dullah Saleh.
—Associated Press TURKEY
At least 23 killed in clashes with rebels Turkish warplanes launched
air raids against suspected Kurd- ish rebel positions in northern Iraq on Saturday after a rebel at- tack on a military outpost in Tur- key touched off clashes in which nine soldiers and 12 rebel fight- ers died, according to Turkey’s military and reports. Two other soldiers were killed in a land-mine explosion while chasing the rebels. Kurdish rebels have stepped
up attacks in Turkey in recent months, threatening a govern- ment attempt to end one of the world’s longest guerrilla wars. —Associated Press
CHINA
90 dead in flooding; 1.4 million evacuated
The death toll from flooding last week in southern China rose to 90 Saturday, and 1.4million people were evacuated as the in- undated region prepared for more heavy storms. Fifty people were also missing in nine provinces and regions across China’s south, the state flood control office said. Water levels have surged passed safe levels in dozens of rivers, includ- ing the Pearl River in the heart of China’s manufacturing region. As of 8 a.m. Saturday, more
than 5million people had been affected by flooding, including
EITAN ABRAMOVICH/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
COLOMBIA Soldiers patrol Bogota, Colombia, on Saturday. On Sunday, voters head to the polls to choose between Juan Manuel Santos and Antanas Mockus, who seek to succeed President Alvaro Uribe.
injuries sustained and property losses incurred, an official at the flood control office said. —Associated Press
Suspected U.S. strike kills 13 in Pakistan: A suspected U.S. mis- sile strike killed 13 people near Mir Ali, in North Waziristan, a tribal region in the volatile northwest where several militant groups are thought to be plotting
attacks on Western troops across the border in Afghanistan. Also Saturday, gunmen opened fire on police at a court in the southern city of Karachi; one police officer and an attacker were killed.
Kosovo frees terrorism suspect wanted in U.S.: A European Union judge in Kosovo has re- leased from detention a Kosovo Albanian man wanted on U.S.
terrorism charges, but he must report to police twice a week. Bajram Asllani, 29, was detained Thursday after prosecutors in North Carolina accused him of soliciting money from a group of men there who were arrested last year for an alleged plot to attack a U.S. Marine Corps base in Quantico.
—From news services
Corruption is institutionalized throughout the ranks, and Amer- ican soldiers say Taliban spies and sympathizers have infiltrated the force. The former police chief at the
station Rathmann is embedded in was dismissed recently for sus- pected links to insurgents. His deputy was locked up briefly for allegedly stealing cases of bottled water. The new chief defends officers’ right to collect bribes, pointing out that their starting pay — $210 a month — is grossly inadequate. “We take it from the bottom, and the higher-ups do the same,” he said in an interview. “Every- body takes bribes. It has become a habit.” The few instances in which
Rathmann’s men have managed to zero in on Taliban cells have
Rathmann told superiors. By the time 30,000 additional
U.S. troops are in place later this year, the United States will have nearly 105,000 in country, the most robust footprint since the 2002 invasion. When Rathmann’s battalion leaves Afghanistan next month, it will be replaced by a larger unit that will more than triple the U.S. military footprint in the city. Brig. Gen. Frederick Hodges, one of the top U.S. commanders in southern Afghanistan, said “2010 is the decisive year.” “We’ll never have more capa- bilities that we’ll have this sum- mer,” he added.
But if progress can be made,
NATO officials say, the onus will be on the Afghan government. “I don’t see the Afghan govern- ment seeing this as an urgent thing,” said Ed Johnson, a Cana- dian police trainer embedded in Rathmann’s platoon. “They don’t have the timelines the U.S. has here.” Rathmann was more blunt. “I see a burning desire only to
get through the day and collect a paycheck,” he said.
londonoe@washpost.com
Kunduz Baghlan
200 UZBEK. TAJIK.
irst Lt. James Rathmann was in a hurry. Five 40- foot containers full of U.S. military gear had been ransacked. There
led to disheartening outcomes. In some cases, their police counter- parts have been unwilling to par- ticipate in raids. “When it comes time to plan a mission, they all take out their phones and start making calls,” said Staff Sgt. James Jackson, 25, of East Point, Mich. “Their body language says a lot. It makes us think they know more than they’re telling us.” The few suspected Taliban members that the American pla- toon has taken into custody have found a way to get out quickly by lobbying power brokers who have sway with police commanders.
Out of the loop
On the day that the Afghans re- fused to help track down the sto- len containers, Rathmann and his men went on their own, but by the time they found them in a nearby lot, the padlocks had been busted and most of the pallets in- side were empty. Afghans security officials at the lot told Rathmann that they had known about the stolen contain- ers for three days. No one seemed to be able to explain why it took so long to alert the Americans. Only detergent and pillows had been spared from the looting,
“When it comes time to plan a mission, they all take out their
phones.” — Staff Sgt. James Jackson
SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2010
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