Hagel, in Kabul, says Afghans to battle back Taliban threat

By Phil Stewart
KABUL Sat Dec 6, 2014 2:54am EST

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel walks to the Pentagon in Washington, November 24, 2014.
Credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas
KABUL (Reuters) - Outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel expressed confidence in the ability of Afghan forces to defend Kabul following a spike in Taliban strikes as he arrived in the Afghan capital on Saturday for his final trip to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief.
Hagel's unannounced visit came near the end of the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the war against Taliban militants began in 2001, and after a particularly violent wave of attacks in the capital.
It also came just weeks before the official end of the NATO-led combat mission and a sharp reduction in western forces.
"I have confidence that the Afghan security forces have the capacity to defend Kabul," Hagel told reporters before landing in Kabul, where he is expected to discuss security in talks with Afghan leaders and U.S. commanders.
A U.S. defense official traveling with Hagel played down the attacks, which led the Kabul police chief to offer his resignation last weekend.
"It is a spike. It seems like it's been a concerted effort by the Taliban to conduct high profile attacks to create perceptions of instability," the official said.
As of early November, about 4,600 members of the Afghan security forces had been killed in 2014, more than 6 percent higher than the same period of 2013.
Even as U.S. officials including Hagel praised the accomplishments of Afghan forces as foreign troops moved into a support role, the high rate of Afghan casualties is seen as unsustainable. It has also raised questions about their vulnerability when U.S. forces fall to about 10,000 next year.
U.S. President Barack Obama's drawdown strategy has attracted criticism, including from Republicans in Congress, who say the hard-fought gains made against the Taliban could be lost in much the same way that sectarian violence returned to Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal.
Hagel, who resigned last week under pressure, warned against drawing comparisons between Iraq and Afghanistan, saying Afghans want U.S. forces to stay.
"Are there (security) gaps? Are there continued challenges? And threats? Absolutely," Hagel acknowledged, noting Afghanistan would still struggle with "pockets" of Taliban resistance.
The Taliban have become increasingly bold in their attacks and control several districts across a country where access to many areas is still limited by rugged terrain and poor security.
Afghan infrastructure is poor. Graft is rife. The economy relies mostly on foreign aid.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Robert Birsel)

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Hagel, in Kabul, says Afghans to battle back Taliban threat

By Phil Stewart
KABUL Sat Dec 6, 2014 2:54am EST

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel walks to the Pentagon in Washington, November 24, 2014.
Credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas
KABUL (Reuters) - Outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel expressed confidence in the ability of Afghan forces to defend Kabul following a spike in Taliban strikes as he arrived in the Afghan capital on Saturday for his final trip to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief.
Hagel's unannounced visit came near the end of the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the war against Taliban militants began in 2001, and after a particularly violent wave of attacks in the capital.
It also came just weeks before the official end of the NATO-led combat mission and a sharp reduction in western forces.
"I have confidence that the Afghan security forces have the capacity to defend Kabul," Hagel told reporters before landing in Kabul, where he is expected to discuss security in talks with Afghan leaders and U.S. commanders.
A U.S. defense official traveling with Hagel played down the attacks, which led the Kabul police chief to offer his resignation last weekend.
"It is a spike. It seems like it's been a concerted effort by the Taliban to conduct high profile attacks to create perceptions of instability," the official said.
As of early November, about 4,600 members of the Afghan security forces had been killed in 2014, more than 6 percent higher than the same period of 2013.
Even as U.S. officials including Hagel praised the accomplishments of Afghan forces as foreign troops moved into a support role, the high rate of Afghan casualties is seen as unsustainable. It has also raised questions about their vulnerability when U.S. forces fall to about 10,000 next year.
U.S. President Barack Obama's drawdown strategy has attracted criticism, including from Republicans in Congress, who say the hard-fought gains made against the Taliban could be lost in much the same way that sectarian violence returned to Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal.
Hagel, who resigned last week under pressure, warned against drawing comparisons between Iraq and Afghanistan, saying Afghans want U.S. forces to stay.
"Are there (security) gaps? Are there continued challenges? And threats? Absolutely," Hagel acknowledged, noting Afghanistan would still struggle with "pockets" of Taliban resistance.
The Taliban have become increasingly bold in their attacks and control several districts across a country where access to many areas is still limited by rugged terrain and poor security.
Afghan infrastructure is poor. Graft is rife. The economy relies mostly on foreign aid.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Robert Birsel)

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Kabul police chief quits after South African family die in Taliban attack

By Kay Johnson and Jessica Donati
KABUL Sun Nov 30, 2014 10:43am EST

1 of 2. Smoke and fire rise from a foreign aid workers' guest house after a Taliban attack in Kabul November 29, 2014.
Credit: Reuters/Omar Sobhani
KABUL (Reuters) - The Kabul police chief resigned on Sunday after Taliban gunmen killed three members of a South African family in the capital, while officials said Afghan forces had ousted insurgents trying to seize former U.S. and British base Camp Bastion in the south.
Taliban fighters breached the perimeter of Camp Bastion in the southern Afghan province of Helmand three days ago, just one month after the base was handed over to the Afghan army.
The latest Taliban attacks have dented confidence in the country's security force and added to concern the police and army will struggle to hold strategic territory after most foreign troops pull out at the end of 2014.
The guest house attacked by the Taliban in Kabul on Saturday, the third attack on a foreign guest house in 10 days, was home to staff of the U.S.-based charity Partnership in Academics and Development (PAD).
PAD said on its website that three people were killed by insurgents who used guns and explosives. They were identified as members of the same South African family - a father and his two teenage children - by a colleague of the mother, who was not in the compound at the time.
The family had lived in Afghanistan for nearly 12 years, with the father running the charity and the mother working as a doctor at a Kabul clinic, the colleague said.
The Taliban said on Saturday they had attacked the foreign guesthouse because they believed it to be a Christian center. This was the second time this year the Taliban targeted a group that it said had links to Christianity.
The 17-year-old son had been applying to universities in the United States, while his sister was 14, according to their mother's colleague, who asked not to be identified for security reasons.
Kabul's police spokesman declined to comment on the reason for the chief's resignation.
"We can only confirm... he will not continue his job as police chief anymore," Hashmat Stanekzai said.
PAD, which supports education in Afghanistan, could not be reached immediately for comment.
Violence across Afghanistan has surged this year as the Taliban and their allies have stepped up their activities ahead of the scheduled withdrawal of most international troops by the end of next month.
Over the past 10 days, three compounds used by foreign organizations have been hit by armed attackers. In separate attacks in Kabul, two American soldiers, two British embassy workers and dozens of Afghan civilians have died.
In Helmand province, Afghan soldiers ousted a group of Taliban from Camp Bastion after a third day of fighting. At least five soldiers were killed in the battle that started late on Thursday.
By Sunday, troops were clearing the part of the sprawling base that had been seized by a few dozen insurgents, according to the governor's spokesman, Omar Zwak.
Violence in another part of Helmand added to the weekend toll, Zwak said, with 12 soldiers dying in Sangin district after their smaller outpost was attacked.
(This story has been refiled to fix layout of third paragraph, no change to text)
(Additional reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Raissa Kasolowsky)

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