It is therefore vital to the UK that Afghanistan becomes a stable and secure state that is able to suppress violent extremism within its borders.
The Afghan Army and Police are not yet ready to confront the insurgency by themselves.
That is why Britain currently has around 9,000 troops in Southern Afghanistan, alongside troops from the US and a number of other countries, taking the fight to the Taliban.
But increasingly British and other ISAF troops in Helmand province are also supporting the growth in capacity and capability of the Afghan Security Forces, through training and mentoring, so they can do this job for themselves.
The sooner the Afghans can take responsibility for their own security and carry out security operations without the need for ISAF support, ensuring the long-term security and stability of the country, the sooner British forces can come home.
In a speech on 14 October 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:
"Over the last two years we have sought to build and support the Afghan army and police. Our strategy is dedicated to counter-insurgency and what we have called 'Afghanisation'.
"In Afghanistan we will now move further and faster to implement our strategy: one that starts with training, mentoring and partnering the afghan army and police.
"The more the Afghans can take responsibility for security, the less our coalition forces will be needed in the long term - and the sooner our troops will come home."
Building Afghanistan's National Security Forces
The enabling of the Afghan Security Forces, often referred to as 'Afghanisation,' is a key part of NATO's strategy in Afghanistan.
A NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (NTM-A) has been launched which is responsible for the Afghan National Security Force's institutional training, education and professional development activities as set out by the Afghan Ministries of Defence and Interior.
As of late 2009, ISAF troops have trained over 90,000 Afghan troops, and 80,000 Afghan police. It is planned that by October 2010 the Afghan Army will be 134,000 strong.
The Afghans are committed to the recruitment of 5,000 soldiers a month from next spring.
Afghan forces are now running security in Kabul. Over time they will take over other districts.
As operations progress, ISAF forces, including British troops, will shift the balance of the military effort more and more towards training and mentoring the Afghan Army and Police.
British troops in Afghanistan are supporting the growth of the Afghan Security Forces in a number of ways:
- The UK supports Afghan National Army NCO training in Kabul and has trained Afghan cadets at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
- A UK battalion has also been training and mentoring an Afghan National Army Brigade in Helmand Province, undertaking operations alongside their Afghan allies. - The ANA troops in Helmand are amongst the most capable in the Afghan Army. Three of the four Infantry Kandaks (Battalions) and the Brigade HQ are capable of conducting operations with minimal ISAF support. Recently they have worked alongside ISAF troops to deliver the hydro electric turbine to the Kajaki Dam and also in Operation Panther's Claw. Last year there were 4,200 Afghan soldiers in Helmand, this year there are fifty per cent more
- Within the British led Task Force Helmand is an Operational Mentoring and Liason Team (see below) Battle Group working with members of the Afghan National Army
- The UK is contributing police officers to the EU Police Mission to Afghanistan and Royal Military Police and Ministry of Defence Police are involved in training and mentoring Afghan National Police
Partnering
In a speech on 6 November 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown outlined the approach of "partnering." He said:
"Four hundred of our armed forces are already dedicated to mentoring the Afghan army.
"Over 100 are dedicated to mentoring the Afghan police. They are working together with British and European specialist police trainers.
"But all our forces are working increasingly closely with Afghan counterparts as we move towards the approach that we call 'partnering'.
"I saw this partnership in action in August in the Joint Operational Co-ordination Centre in Lashkar Gah, bringing together the Afghan army, police and security services, all with British monitors and working well.
"I heard how the Afghan police are often on the front line, taking heavier casualties often than the Afghan army, and also that the challenge for their mentors here is even tougher than the Afghan Army because of the problems of illiteracy, drug abuse and corruption.
"But despite these very serious challenges, the Afghan police have played some role this summer, involved in holding the Babaji area in Operation Panther's Claw, and in the security effort around the elections, led out of the joint operations centre I visited, which ensured that over 100 polling stations were opened and stayed open despite the Taliban threats.
"We will not give up this strategy of mentoring. It is what distinguishes a liberating army from an army of occupation: not an army in opposition to local Afghan people, but an army supporting local Afghan people.
"And this approach of Afghanisation that we recommended more than a year ago is now the strategy of the whole coalition. It is essential for the whole coalition to implement it across the whole of Afghanistan."
Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams
The Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) programme is an important part of ISAF's contribution towards the development of the Afghan National Army (ANA).
OMLTs provide training and mentoring to the Afghan National Army. They also serve as a liaison capability between Afghan National Army and ISAF forces, co-ordinating the planning of operations and ensuring that the Afghan units receive necessary enabling support (including close air support, casualty evacuation and medical evacuation).
OMLTs are composed of 13-30 personnel (depending on the type and function of the Afghan National Army unit with which it is partnered from one or several countries.
Each OMLT is normally deployed with an Afghan unit for a minimum period of six months.
There are currently 59 OMLTs operating in all five regions of Afghanistan.
The NATO-ISAF OMLT programme works complementarily with the US-led Embedded Training Teams (ETT), which perform similar duties.
Under OMLT mentorship, the Afghan National Army's capabilities are increasing steadily. Today, 28 kandaks (battalions) and 11 HQs (2 x corps and 9 x brigades) have reached the highest standard - Capability Milestone 1 (CM1) - assessed to be fully capable of conducting independent operations at battalion level.