Panetta Arrives in Afghanistan to Assess Situation

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 7, 2012 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta arrived here today to meet with NATO and Afghan leaders, visit with American troops, and assess the situation on the ground.

This is Panetta’s fourth trip to Afghanistan as defense secretary. He will meet with International Security Assistance Force commander Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan C. Crocker and Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak.

Panetta told reporters traveling with him that he will receive an update on the situation in Afghanistan and on the plans Allen has put in place for the final drawdown of surge forces. The roundtable was held in India yesterday, but embargoed until the secretary arrived in here for his unannounced visit.

The secretary will also receive briefings on the training, equipping and combat effectiveness of Afghan national security forces.

The secretary wants to pay tribute to Crocker, who is leaving his post shortly.

“He’s been around a long time in some very tough positions,” Panetta said of the ambassador. “Working with General Allen, he was able to complete the work on the [memorandums of understanding] and Strategic Partnership Agreement with the Afghans.”

The secretary said he wants to get a sense of what’s happening on the ground. The Taliban have launched some attacks lately that are more organized than in the past, Panetta said. While the levels of violence are down, it is a concern for him. “I think it’s important to make sure that we are aware of the kind of attacks they are going to engage in, particularly as we go through the rest of the summer,” he said.

The secretary said the situation in Pakistan also concerns him, but he said the United States will keep working with Afghanistan’s neighbor to reopen the supply lines through Pakistan and to get Pakistani security forces to stop the cross-border attacks by the Taliban and other terror groups like the Haqqani network.

The United States and India must continue to work with Pakistan, Panetta said.

“Having a stable Pakistan is extremely important,” he said.

The safe havens in the federally administered tribal areas in Pakistan continue to be a concern, Panetta said. Terrorists can use this area to plan attacks and then cross the border into Afghanistan and launch them. It’s in Pakistan’s interest as well to take on these groups, the secretary said. Terrorists have killed thousands of Pakistanis and that country’s military has been able to combat the terror groups in the past. The Pakistani military went into Waziristan to fight extremists there, for example.

“The bottom line with Pakistan: it is a complicated relationship, but it is a necessary relationship,” Panetta said.

The United States must keeping working with Pakistan, Panetta said, in order “to get their cooperation in that effort” to combat Pakistan-based terrorists.

Pakistan is important to the stability of the region, Panetta said. “For that reason, both India, the United States and others are going to have to do everything we can to try to do what is possible to improve the relationship,” he said.

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta Statement on U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement

 “I strongly support the U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement signed by President Obama and President Karzai in Kabul.  This agreement affirms the long-term commitment of the United States to Afghanistan, and it is a further expression of our shared goal of defeating al Qaeda and its extremist affiliates.  It is a tangible sign of the strength and the resilience of the partnership that has been built between the United States and the Afghan people, and the significant progress that has been made by American, international and Afghan forces in building an Afghanistan that can secure and govern itself.  The transition to Afghan security lead has commenced and it is on track.

 “This partnership agreement reflects our common vision for a strong relationship that will continue beyond the end of the transition to Afghan security responsibility in 2014.  That we can look beyond this period of transition is a tribute to the significant gains our forces have made, and the extraordinary growth in capability of the Afghan National Security Forces.  The United States of America and Afghanistan are more secure today because of the service and sacrifices of these brave heroes, and we will be more secure thanks to the enduring partnership that President Obama and President Karzai have signed.  There will be more challenges ahead, but our strategy is succeeding.

 “I’d like to extend my deepest thanks to Ambassador Crocker and General Allen for their leadership in helping forge this agreement, and for their dedicated service to our nation.”

President Arrives in Kabul to Sign Pact, Address Nation

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2012 – President Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul today for a whirlwind visit with Afghan and NATO leaders, White House officials announced.

Air Force One landed at Bagram Airfield east of Kabul, and the president transferred to a waiting helicopter. He will make an address to the American people at 7:30 EDT tonight.

Obama is meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and the press pool traveling with him reported that the two leaders signed the recently agreed-upon strategic partnership agreement between their governments shortly after Obama’s arrival at the presidential palace.

The agreement charts the long-term relationship between the United States and Afghanistan after 2014. The agreement is meant to reassure Afghans that the United States will continue to support the nation in the decade ahead, officials said. Defense Department officials have said a number of American service members will remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014 to advise and train Afghan soldiers and police.

U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan C. Crocker and Army Lt. Gen. Curtis M. Scaparotti, commander of International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, greeted the president upon his arrival.

The visit coincides with the one-year anniversary of the mission that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

According to the pool report, “the timing of the trip was driven by the negotiations over the strategic partnership agreement and by the desire of both presidents to sign the agreement in Afghanistan prior to the NATO summit in Chicago later this month.”

This is Obama’s fourth trip to Afghanistan.

Officials Congratulate New Afghan Detention Center Commander

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force and ISAF Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON  – Top U.S. military and diplomatic officials in Afghanistan offered their congratulations yesterday as an Afghan officer took charge of Afghan Detention Operations Command.

Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, joined U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan C. Crocker in congratulating Maj. Gen. Faroq Barekzai on his assumption of command at a ceremony held in Parwan, Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai appointed Barekzai to his new position March 28, officials said.

“Today’s event is nothing short of monumental when looking at the significance of Major General Barekzai’s assumption of command and the responsibilities he assumes for the Afghan people and his nation’s justice system,” Allen said at the ceremony. “This is a symbolic and visible step marking the progress we continue to make in partnership with the Afghan government as we work to develop and uphold the sovereignty they rightfully deserve.”

Officials said the ceremony marked the first step of an agreed-upon process that will give the Afghan defense ministry full control of the detention facility within six months while protecting U.S. international and domestic legal obligations regarding detainees. Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed March 9, the United States will provide ongoing support and advice to the Afghan commander for up to one year.

“This assumption of command marks another step in the transition to Afghan control of security and is a sign of our support for Afghan sovereignty, as well as our commitment to an enduring partnership,” Crocker said.

In operations around Afghanistan yesterday:

-- An Afghan-led force in the Daman district of Kandahar province captured a Taliban facilitator who supplied insurgents with weapons, ammunition and equipment. He also participated in roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces.

-- A combined force found and destroyed 1,650 pounds of marijuana in the Maiwand district of Kandahar province.

In March 31 operations:

-- A combined force captured a Taliban facilitator, detained another insurgent and seized an Afghan National Police uniform in the Maidan Shahr district of Wardak province. The facilitator provided roadside bombs and other weapons to insurgents for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He is also suspected in the Jan. 2 attack along Highway 2 against a convoy escorted by Afghan security forces. Three Afghan soldiers were wounded in that attack.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban facilitator and detained three additional insurgents in the Charhar Darah district of Kunduz province. The facilitator managed the insurgent financial network in the province and provided funds that enabled attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A combined force detained a suspect while searching for a Taliban facilitator in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province. The facilitator supplies insurgents with weapons, ammunition and equipment for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in Kandahar City.

-- A combined force captured a Haqqani network leader, detained two additional insurgents and destroyed assault rifles and grenades in the Sayyidabad district of Wardak province. The Haqqani leader directed kidnappings and other insurgent operations against civilians and Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A combined force detained several suspects while searching for a Haqqani leader in the Bak district of Khost province. The insurgent leader organizes roadside bombings and directs other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A combined force detained three suspects and seized multiple weapons while searching for a Taliban facilitator in the Gardez district of Paktia province. The facilitator supplies insurgents with roadside bombs, weapons and ammunition for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

In March 29 operations:

-- A combined force came under insurgent mortar fire near a combat outpost in the Tagab district of Kapisa province. The mortar rounds landed in a nearby Afghan civilian compound, killing one woman and wounding three children. The children were provided medical treatment by Afghan and coalition forces.

-- An Afghan-led combined force detained several suspected insurgents and seized and destroyed more than 3,000 pounds of various narcotics in the Reg-e Khan Neshin district of Helmand province.

New Ambassador: ‘No Rush for Exits’ in Afghanistan

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2011 – U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan C. Crocker told employees during his first day on the job in the Afghan capital of Kabul today that there will be “no rush for the exits” during this critical transition period in Afghanistan.

Crocker presented his diplomatic credentials to Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul.

Marine Corps General John R. Allen, who assumed command of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan last week and served with Crocker in Iraq, joined the ambassador at today’s ceremonies. Crocker praised Allen’s capabilities and promised “full unity of effort” to build on what Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, along with the rest of the coalition, already has accomplished.

“We are at a time of transition in Afghanistan,” Crocker said. “It is a time for us to step back and for the Afghans to step forward, as they are doing.”

Crocker pointed to last week’s successful security transition as an indicator of progress the Afghans have achieved in recent years, but recognized the fragility of that progress.

“I think all of us -- Americans, coalition partners, the international community and the Afghan leadership -- know that we must proceed carefully,” he said. “There will be no rush for the exits. The way we do this in the months ahead will have consequences far beyond Afghanistan and far into the future.”

The coming year will be critical in setting the right path, Crocker said, emphasizing the importance of thinking through the transition period carefully and in consultation with the Afghan government.

Crocker also warned of the “incalculable long-term effects and costs of getting it wrong” in Afghanistan.

“We owe nothing less to the next generation of Afghans, Americans and others not to repeat the mistakes of 20 years ago” that enabled the Taliban and al-Qaida to seize power there, he said.

As the transition in Afghanistan continues, Crocker emphasized the importance of a continued commitment to helping the Afghans build their institutions and a better future for their people. That includes working to conclude a Strategic Partnership Declaration that he said will codify the long-term U.S. commitment to Afghanistan’s success.

Crocker said the United States has no interest in permanent bases in Afghanistan.

“The president has said it, the secretaries of State and Defense have said it, and I repeat it here,” he said. “We will stay as long as we need to, and not one day more. We have no interest in using Afghanistan as a platform to project influence into neighboring countries. Our sole interest is in Afghanistan’s security and sustainable stability, and ensuring that it will never again become a haven for international terrorism that poses a threat to the international community.”

Crocker called on Afghanistan’s neighbors and the international community to become fully invested in that effort, through 2014 and beyond.