INTERVIEW-Afghan stability will take a generation-US general
By Andrew Gray
FORT BRAGG, N.C., April 29 (Reuters) - Stabilizing Afghanistan will need an international commitment lasting a generation, the general who has just spent more than a year commanding U.S. forces there said on Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, said Afghan and international organizations had to work together closely to improve all aspects of daily life to win over ordinary Afghans.
"Everything is interrelated," he said in an interview at his headquarters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
"There's no separation in the minds of the people out there," Rodriguez said. "It's the opportunities they have, it's the security they have and it's the ability to provide for their children."
Violence involving the Taliban and other insurgents has risen sharply in Afghanistan over the past two years, particularly suicide attacks and car bombings.
But Rodriguez, who returned home this month after some 14 months commanding the U.S. contingent of NATO's security force in Afghanistan, said he was optimistic about the future, although change would take time.
"As the government and security forces improve... people will see and have confidence that this is the way ahead," he said. "They're increasing that confidence every day but they still have a long way to go."
Asked how long it would take to create lasting stability in Afghanistan, Rodriguez replied: "In some way, shape or form ... I think it's a generation."
PROGRESS IN EAST
Rodriguez said the size of foreign military forces in Afghanistan would decline over time, but the country would still need international help in other areas such as building infrastructure and government capacity.
"We've done this many times before," Rodriguez said of efforts to stabilize countries such as Korea, Japan and Germany after wars.
"It's been between 20 and 30, sometimes 50, years," he said.
The United States has some 34,000 troops in Afghanistan, split between NATO's 47,000-strong force and other missions.
Despite the overall increase in violence in Afghanistan, Rodriguez has won praise for progress in security and governance in the U.S.-led sector in the east of the country.
Rodriguez stressed the importance of understanding Afghan society and said U.S. troops had developed a Wikipedia-style internal Web site of information about the country.
"Everybody gets to input -- it's just like Wikipedia," he said, referring to the Internet encyclopedia that takes contributions from readers. "A young corporal figured out how to do that."
Earlier this year, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said troops under the general's command were "doing a terrific job" and had counterinsurgency skills "down pat."
Such skills, aimed at winning the trust of local people, are very different from those often associated with the 82nd Airborne Division, among the most famous in the U.S. Army.
Its paratroopers, known for their maroon berets, have a history of tough combat missions going back to World War Two.
But Rodriguez said he believed the wide range of skills his soldiers used in Afghanistan -- from mentoring local security forces to helping local officials contract for reconstruction projects -- would be necessary in future conflicts too.
"I think we're going to need to do that -- to be multi-functional and pentathletes, to do everything and anything it takes to make a difference and accomplish the mission," he said.
(Editing by David Wiessler)
FORT BRAGG, N.C., April 29 (Reuters) - Stabilizing Afghanistan will need an international commitment lasting a generation, the general who has just spent more than a year commanding U.S. forces there said on Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, said Afghan and international organizations had to work together closely to improve all aspects of daily life to win over ordinary Afghans.
"Everything is interrelated," he said in an interview at his headquarters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
"There's no separation in the minds of the people out there," Rodriguez said. "It's the opportunities they have, it's the security they have and it's the ability to provide for their children."
Violence involving the Taliban and other insurgents has risen sharply in Afghanistan over the past two years, particularly suicide attacks and car bombings.
But Rodriguez, who returned home this month after some 14 months commanding the U.S. contingent of NATO's security force in Afghanistan, said he was optimistic about the future, although change would take time.
"As the government and security forces improve... people will see and have confidence that this is the way ahead," he said. "They're increasing that confidence every day but they still have a long way to go."
Asked how long it would take to create lasting stability in Afghanistan, Rodriguez replied: "In some way, shape or form ... I think it's a generation."
PROGRESS IN EAST
Rodriguez said the size of foreign military forces in Afghanistan would decline over time, but the country would still need international help in other areas such as building infrastructure and government capacity.
"We've done this many times before," Rodriguez said of efforts to stabilize countries such as Korea, Japan and Germany after wars.
"It's been between 20 and 30, sometimes 50, years," he said.
The United States has some 34,000 troops in Afghanistan, split between NATO's 47,000-strong force and other missions.
Despite the overall increase in violence in Afghanistan, Rodriguez has won praise for progress in security and governance in the U.S.-led sector in the east of the country.
Rodriguez stressed the importance of understanding Afghan society and said U.S. troops had developed a Wikipedia-style internal Web site of information about the country.
"Everybody gets to input -- it's just like Wikipedia," he said, referring to the Internet encyclopedia that takes contributions from readers. "A young corporal figured out how to do that."
Earlier this year, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said troops under the general's command were "doing a terrific job" and had counterinsurgency skills "down pat."
Such skills, aimed at winning the trust of local people, are very different from those often associated with the 82nd Airborne Division, among the most famous in the U.S. Army.
Its paratroopers, known for their maroon berets, have a history of tough combat missions going back to World War Two.
But Rodriguez said he believed the wide range of skills his soldiers used in Afghanistan -- from mentoring local security forces to helping local officials contract for reconstruction projects -- would be necessary in future conflicts too.
"I think we're going to need to do that -- to be multi-functional and pentathletes, to do everything and anything it takes to make a difference and accomplish the mission," he said.
(Editing by David Wiessler)
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