An Elusive Peace

Representatives from four of Afghanistan's political groups met with United Nations officials outside Bonn on Nov. 27, 2001 to discuss democratic reconstruction in the war-torn country. The following week, the group of diplomats signed the Bonn agreement, setting the future course for the international cooperation in Afghanistan.

The architects of the treaty agreed it was impossible to attain stability without international involvement.

While the US-led mission Enduring Freedom was conceived primarily to counter the Taliban militias and the al Qaeda terror organization, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was put in place by the UN in late December 2001 to contribute to security in Kabul and surrounding areas.

Mission expanded, mandate extended

At the outset, ISAF was comprised of 4,000 soldiers from 18 countries, including Germany, and mandated for one year.

The residents of Kabul had lived with violence for years and many were ambivalent toward the ISAF mission, which quickly extended its initial mandate.

"My feeling was that the international community had decided to put an end to the continuous war in Afghanistan," Karim Wahidi, a civil servant in Kabul, said about the first ISAF troops in Kabul. "We were hopeful that we would never see the war criminals in power again."

At the petition of the Afghan government and with the support of the UN, it was decided at the NATO summit in Istanbul in June 2004 that the ISAF mission should gradually be expanded to cover all of Afghanistan -- even the more peaceful areas in the north and northeast.

Meanwhile, ISAF had grown to 33,000 soldiers from 37 countries. This included 2,700 troops from the German Bundeswehr, mainly stationed in the north.

Mixed reactions from residents

Afghans in the quieter northern parts of the country tend to be more satisfied with the foreign peacekeeping mission than the people living in the south.

"The situation in Puli Khomri is very good," Soraya said about the town where she studies in northern Afghanistan. "ISAF provides for people's security and helps us."

German troops are active in the Province Reconstruction Team (PRT) in the north, where they seek to contribute to the country's precarious development process and prevent violence.

In the south, however, where civilians are surrounded by combat situations, the attitudes are noticably more bitter.

"The mood has changed in Kandahar," said Abdul Qadiem Patyal, a journalist in southern Afghanistan. "At first, the people saw ISAF as a source of stability and security. Unfortunately, the situation has changed, and ISAF is facing hate and rejection from the people. ISAF reacts hastily and nervously -- to suicide attacks, for example -- which means that civilians also get wounded or killed."

Civilian death toll

The radical Islamic uprising in Afghanistan, particularly in the south, took a toll of 4,000 lives last year alone. Around 1,000 of those were civilians.

"I believe that's the only mistake that we've made," said ISAF spokesperson Richard Nugee. "We're making a huge effort to avoid civilian deaths in the coming year."

Five years after the start of Germany's mandate in Afghanistan, the talk in Berlin is centered on expanding involvement rather than reducing it. NATO has asked Germany to send five to six Tornado reconnaissance places for use throughout the whole country.

The 250 soldiers that would accompany the planes could potentially be deployed to the more dangerous combat areas in the south. The German government has said it will decide in January on sending the planes.