Escalation of Violence

Sometimes the figures themselves tell the whole story. Since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, there has never been as many insurgent attacks as have been experienced lately. In the past six months over 4,500 security ‘incidents’ have been reported in the Hindu Kush. The Taliban engaged in over 400 separate skirmishes with soldiers of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) last week alone. One year ago, there were fewer than 250 engagements per week and in January 2004 the number stood at 50.

This downward spiral isn’t just due to tactical reasons. On the contrary, the West’s primary response to everything in Afghanistan is military and this policy leads to escalation of violence. The new ISAF Commander, Stanley McChrystal shares responsibility for this. The Three-Star General is a specialist in clandestine operations and gained a great deal of experience in Iraq. According to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, he will provide ‘a fresh approach and a fresh look.’ He will also approach the task with tens of thousands of additional troops. By this fall, U.S. troops will more than double to 68,000, bringing the total ISAF commitment to 100,000. The troops will also get additional air support (so long as they are capable of directing ground attacks) from the AWACS surveillance aircraft Germany insisted on sending and which NATO has now approved. The war in Afghanistan will intensify and the number of civilian casualties will subsequently increase thanks to the help of the German military.