Christian SM: Desertions deplete Afghan Army

[La_Serpiente]

Desertions deplete Afghan Army

At the current pace, it will take until 2010 for the force to reach full strength - prolonging US Army stay.
By Ann Scott Tyson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

POL-E-CHARKHI, AFGHANISTAN – In a muddy camp east of Kabul, Maj. Gen. Sher Karimi surveys the latest hard-won gains in the struggle to forge a national defense force for Afghanistan.
Before him down the hill, a new Afghan artillery unit oils 122 mm howitzers under the patient instruction of a Mongolian trainer. Behind him stands a row of rusty Soviet Scuds and other missiles, rocket launchers, and artillery pieces trucked in Thursday night as part of a push to disarm regional militia of both small arms and heavy weapons.

Building a cohesive, ethnically diverse Afghan National Army (ANA), while gradually coaxing powerful local militia totaling some 100,000 men to lay down their arms are cornerstones of security and independence for Afghanistan. They are also vital preconditions for the withdrawal of the 16,000 US and other foreign troops here.

But General Karimi says that these remain far-off goals, complicated by competing allegiances among his soldiers and the nation's faction-ridden history. As ANA's chief of operations, he speaks of "the distant future, when Afghanistan is standing on its feet."

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Desertions deplete Afghan Army

[Mercurius]

1. Interesting

It's interesting that they're having this problem. The Iraqi army is suffering from desertions because of low pay.