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| Updated: 19-Jun-2007 | Speaking Notes |
ISAF PRESS CONFERENCE 3 JAN 07
A HAPPY New Year to you all. I am delighted to have this opportunity to report to you some of the facts about this year and then show how we are aiming to continue increasing security through the new year and beyond. The trend in reduction of incidents has continued for this month, with a further 21% drop in the number of significant actions over last month, from 477 incidents across the country in November to 377 this month. And we have seen a similar reduction in the number of Improvised explosive device incidents as well. The interesting figures are perhaps to look at where we were this time last year, with figures from Dec 05. On this chart, you will see the reality of where we are now:Comparison with last December
What this shows is that, in fact, that there has been a reduction of incidents in 3 regions, this month compared to the same month last year, and a very marginal increase in the East. It is only in the south where there has been a significant increase. Much of this has been in Helmand, where there has also been a significant increase in the number of troops, filling a gap before they arrived which the Taliban took advantage of. Mullah Omar in his Eid message suggested that he would make us retreat in shame and disgrace from the region. I think you can see by these figures that in the majority of the country, he is further from achieving that goal than he was at the beginning of the year. And in the South, where he tried to have a decisive effect, we are still there, in greater numbers, routing his forces in the Panjwayi area, so there are none left south of the Argandab River. He also said that his men should avoid civilian casualties – and yet since his last Eid message in October, they have killed 400 innocent civilians, and very few ISAF forces. He stated that we have bombed mercilessly; yet it is they who show no mercy, making no effort to support the injured, killed or those affected by their actions, while we have made some precision strikes, killing some of his most trusted henchmen, such as Gul Agha. So, what of 2006? I would suggest that it was a year of 2 halves. In the first half, the Taliban believed their own rhetoric, and believed that NATO, responsible for security in the whole country, would not fight. So they took us on in a place of their choosing, in a hard fight. They lost. And since then, in the summer, as the figures show, there has been a steady reduction, and their attacks have become increasingly ineffective – in fact, almost half as effective as this time 3 months ago. Why? Because while the insurgents have been killing innocent civilians, we have been removing them from areas they thought they controlled, through operations in the south such as Op Baas Tsuka, and in the area around the capital in the Musayhi valley. Key to these operations was the dialogue with the local communities, through extensive use of shuras and immediate humanitarian assistance. The combination of ANSF – ISAF, the full engagement of the GOA through the governor and a strategy based on real progress will set the conditions for a lasting secure environment through which reconstruction and development can take place. And the success of the operation is not measured in dead insurgents, but in their continued rejection by the local community. And this is beginning to happen over the whole of the affected region – in the Mandikel District of Khowst, local villagers rose up against 15 armed fighters, forcing them out of the village even before the police could get there. So what of this coming year? We have won ourselves an opportunity to increase development. Over 4000 projects for development and reconstruction are being carried out across the country, from reconstruction works worth over $1m in Musa Qala for example, to over 330 projects in the north, such as the 2 new girls schools in Pol-I-Khumri. So this year, I believe we will see more of the same, development, and the undermining of the insurgent, ensuring that he is unable to gain the support he thought he had from the people. And while we are spending over $2m clearing roads from snow and ice around the Kabul area, we ask where are the insurgents? What value do they add to the communities? Contact Information:
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