AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
Kabul: NATO's chief in southern Afghanistan said Sunday the force still has a winning strategy despite the killing of nine of its soldiers since it took over the region six days ago.
“We have had a difficult week,” acknowledged General David Richards, the head of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
But he said it was necessary to put into perspective a week which cost the lives of four British and five Canadian soldiers. One of the Canadians died in a trafic accident. A dozen more soldiers have been wounded.
Richards said NATO would continue assisting the local population “and as far as a change of tactics is concerned, we have many good innovative plans as I said to you before.
“We'll take about a month to get into place and we are very confident that you will see a big change after that,” he said.
Richards said there were two encouraging signs during the week.
“Whilst I'm not into Vietnam body counts, a lot of insurgents were also killed, wounded or captured,” he said.
He also noted that the Canadians killed Thursday near the village of Pashmul were there at the request of local people. The insurgents had forbidden them to deliver their grapes and they risked losing their harvest.
“ISAF forces are taking the initiative against the rebels,” said Major Toby Jackman, the force's spokesman in Kabul. He cited an operation launched Sunday in Helmand's province's Musa Qala district, the scene of numerous bloody clashes with the rebels.
Officials said the rebels were not only Taliban but also drugs traffickers and other criminals upset by the NATO deployment, which is twice the size of the previous US-led coalition force in the south.
“It is evident through ISAF's actions that ISAF will not be deterred,” Jackman said.
The force's main purpose was to ensure sufficient security in the south so that development aid projects could go ahead in a region which previously received little help.
It works on a concept of “development zones”, with efforts to improve the lives of local residents after rebels have been chased out of the zone. The aim is to persuade locals to support ISAF and the central government in order to profit from international aid.
Richards said it would take till November to see the first positive signs from this strategy.
An opinion poll in Canada last month showed declining support for the mission, with only 39 percent backing the deployment against 55 percent in March.
“The support that we have throughout NATO is based on a clear understanding of what the mission is and as long as people understand the mission I believe that NATO nations will maintain their support,” said Mark Laity, civilian spokesman for NATO in Kabul.
“They understand that this is not fighting for fighting's sake but combat with a clear purpose — to help the people of Afghanistan.”
