Paris, 2 December 2009 – On Wednesday the European Security and Defence Assembly (ESDA) called for a “clear strategy for engagement” in Afghanistan with “a timetable for withdrawal”, in particular a military withdrawal, “as soon as the objectives have been reached”.

On the basis of a report entitled “The war in Afghanistan: implications for the region” (Document 2050), submitted on behalf of the Defence Committee by Mrs Françoise HOSTALIER (France, Federated Group), Mr Jean-Pierre KUCHEIDA (France, Socialist Group) and Mr Mehmet TEKELIOGLU (Turkey, Federated Group), the Assembly deemed it necessary “to involve all the neighbouring countries as partners and not simply as observers, as is the case today, in the decisions and actions taken by the international community”. The Assembly also recommended examining and updating “the mandate of the EU Special Representative in Afghanistan” and urged the EU to open “representations in Afghan regional centres to monitor distribution of European aid for reconstruction and to quantify results”.

Mrs HOSTALIER felt that following the highly controversial re-election of President KARZAI, “Afghans are worried and disillusioned with their government, but at the same time they do not want the Taliban to return. The mistakes made by the government and Afghan expectations must be taken into account” she said, citing as a positive sign the fact that several former ministers had recently been placed under investigation for corruption.

She also noted the important developments in the situation in Pakistan where “the government has at last decided to take military action in the area where the insurgents are concentrated. This goes to show that Pakistan, admittedly under international pressure, is sending out clear signals to the Taliban that it will not allow them to destabilise the border with Afghanistan”.

Given the “reluctance and concerns about military involvement and the risks of the situation becoming bogged down”, which she finds “perfectly understandable”, Mrs HOSTALIER finally recommended “a pragmatic approach”. According to the accounts of Afghan officers she had met, “considerable progress has been made in training the Afghan army”. They had added that the “job was only half done”, however, and that they did not want to lose outside support. She went on to say that a gradual withdrawal along the lines of the Iraq example would be “possible” one day.

Mr KUCHEIDA, co-author of two previous reports on Afghanistan (Documents 1930 and 2036), was more circumspect. “Since 2006 the situation has continued to deteriorate on the military, political, social and cultural fronts”, raising more and more doubts among the public in the coalition countries as to the appropriateness of continued involvement in this country “where neither the British nor the Russians managed to achieve military victory”. To illustrate the deteriorating situation, Mr KUCHEIDA recalled that the area of land under poppy cultivation had “doubled since 2006 to reach 192 000 hectares in 2009”. Mr KUCHEIDA expressed fears that the situation would “continue to get worse in the future” in spite of military and civil reinforcements and plans to restore peace and the rule of law in Afghanistan.

Mr TEKELIOGLU drew attention to Turkey’s contribution – based on historical ties and cultural and linguistic understanding – towards establishing security and stability in Afghanistan and towards its reconstruction. He gave details of the assistance provided by Turkey in establishing the Afghan armed forces and towards the country’s economic and social development. Mr TEKELIOGLU underlined Turkey’s regional approach which included trilateral cooperation between Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The ensuing debate clearly showed the dividing lines that exist as to the appropriateness of maintaining a strong presence in Afghanistan. Mr KUCHEIDA’s scepticism was in particular shared by two parliamentarians from the United Kingdom, MM Mike HANCOCK (Liberal Group) and Paul FLYNN (Socialist Group). Mr FLYNN pointed out that it was estimated that “72% of the area of Afghanistan is controlled by the Taliban”. However, according to Mr Detlef DZEMBRITZKI (Germany, Socialist Group), “75% of Afghans do not want the coalition forces to withdraw”.