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International Security Assistance Force

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Logo of ISAF. Pashto writing: کمک و همکاری (Komak wa Hamkari) means "Help and Cooperation".

International Security Assistance Force (10) (ISAF) is the name of a NATO-led security and development mission in Afghanistan which was established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001[1] and consists of about 35,500 personnel as of 31 May 2007. Thirty-seven different nations have contributed troops to this military force, including contributions from North America, Europe and Australia.

ISAF has been charged with securing the Kabul and the surrounding areas throughout the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) from the Taliban, al Qaida and factional warlords, so as to allow for the establishment of the Afghan Transitional Administration headed by Hamid Karzai. [2]

Throughout the years, ISAF expanded the mission in four main stages over the whole of Afghanistan. Since 2006, ISAF has been involved in more intensive combat operations in southern Afghanistan, a tendency which continues in 2007. And attacks on ISAF in other parts of Afghanistan are also mounting.

Jurisdiction

File:Isaf sv2.jpg
Slovenian soldiers in Humvee, patrolling an area around Kabul.

For almost two years, the ISAF mandate did not go beyond the boundaries of Kabul. According to General Norbert Van Heyst, such a deployment would require at least an extra ten thousand soldiers. The responsibility for security throughout the whole of Afghanistan was to be given to the newly-constituted Afghan National Army. However, on October 13, 2003, the Security Council voted unanimously to expand the ISAF mission beyond Kabul (Resolution 1510). Shortly thereafter, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said that Canadian soldiers (nearly half of the entire force at that time) would not deploy outside Kabul.

On October 24, 2003, the German Bundestag voted to send German troops to the region of Kunduz. Around 230 additional soldiers were deployed to that region, marking the first time that ISAF soldiers operated outside of Kabul.

After the Afghan National Assembly and Provincial Council elections in the fall of 2005, the Canadian base Camp Julien at Kabul closed, and remaining Canadian assets have moved to Kandahar as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in preparation for a significant deployment in January 2006.

At July 31, 2006, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force assumed command of the south of the country, ISAF Stage 3, and by October 5 also of the east of Afghanistan, ISAF stage 4.

ISAF is mandated by the United Nations Security Council Resolutions S/RES/1386, S/RES/1413, S/RES/1444, S/RES/1510, S/RES/1563, S/RES/1623, S/RES/1659, S/RES/1707, and S/RES/1776(2007). The last of these extended the mandate of ISAF to 13 October 2008, albeit with an abstention from Russia due to the lack of clarity in the wording pertaining to the coalition Force's maritime interception component, which has not appeared in any of the Security Council's previous resolutions.[3]

The mandates the different governments are giving to their forces can differ from country to country.

Structure

ISAF troops under NATO command.

The initial ISAF headquarters was based on 3rd UK Mechanised Division, which was led at the time by Major General John McCall. Until ISAF expanded beyond Kabul, the Force consisted of a roughly division-level headquarters and one brigade covering this capital, the Kabul Multinational Brigade. The brigade was composed of three battle groups, and was in charge of the tactical command of deployed troops. ISAF headquarters serves as the operational control center of the mission. As the area of responsibility was increased, ISAF also took command of an increasing number of Provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs), with the aim of improving security and to facilitate reconstruction outside the capital. The first nine PRTs (and lead nations) were based at Baghlan (Netherlands, then Hungary at October 2006), Chaghcharan (Lithuania), Farah (U.S.), Fayzabad (Germany), Herat (Italy), Kunduz (Germany), Mazari Sharif (UK, then Denmark/Sweden), Maymana (UK, then Norway), Qala-e Naw (Spain).

Throughout the four different regional stages of ISAF the number of teams began growing. The expansion of ISAF, during October 2006, to all provinces of the country brought the total number of teams to twenty-four (24). The teams are led by different members of the NATO-ISAF mission. Another new PRT at Wardak was installed in November 2006, which is led by Turkey. This brought the number to 25. The overall NATO-ISAF mission is led by the Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, at Brunssum, the Netherlands. [4]

The main HQ at Afghanistan is located in the capital city of Kabul. There are five (5) Regional Command Centers, underneath them are the Provincial Reconstruction Teams:

File:ISAF jet plane.jpg
Dutch F-16 Falcon at Kabul Airport.
File:ISAF observation group in Afghanistan.jpg
ISAF observation group near Maymana, in northern Afghanistan.
The Norwegian base, inside Camp Marmal.
Construction of Camp Marmal at Mazar-i-Sharif.
  • HQ ISAF at Kabul (Composite)
  • Regional Command Capital (approx. strength: 5,000)

The strength of the ISAF forces as of May 31, 2007. [5] The numbers also reflect the situation in the country. The north and west are relatively calm, while ISAF and Afghan forces in the south and east are almost under daily attack.

See also: Provincial Reconstruction Team and Afghanistan War order of battle

Security and reconstruction

Since 2006 the insurgency of the Taliban has been intensifying, especially in the southern Pashtun parts of the country, areas that were the Taliban's original power base in the Afghan Civil War.

Since NATO-ISAF took over command of the south on July 31, 2006, British and Canadian ISAF soldiers in the provinces of Helmand and Kandahar have come under almost daily attack. British commanders say the fighting for them is the fiercest since the Korean War, fifty years ago. BBC reporter Alistair Leithead, embedded with the British forces, called it at an article "Deployed to Afghanistan's hell" [6]

Because of the security situation in the south, NATO-ISAF commanders have asked member countries to send more troops. OnOctober 19, for example, the Dutch government decided to send more troops, because of the many attacks by suspected Taliban on their Task Force Uruzgan, which makes it very difficult to complete the reconstruction work they came to accomplish.

ISAF and the illegal opium economy

ISAF's mandate does not include a pro-active role in fighting the illegal opium economy in Afghanistan. It plays an indirect role in sharing intelligence with the Afghan government, protecting Afghan poppy crop eradication units and helping coordinate and implement the country's counter narcotics policy. Dutch ISAF forces have, for example, used military force to protect eradication units that came under attack. The indirect role ISAF plays in helping the Afghan counter narcotic forces is problematic for NATO. Crop eradication often targets the poorest farmers who have no economic alternatives to fall back on. Without alternatives, these farmers can no longer feed their families, causing anger, frustration and social protest. Thus, being associated with counter productive drug policy, the ISAF soldiers on the ground find it hard to win the hearts and minds of the local population. A Washington Quarterly article written by Peter van Ham and Jorrit Kamminga explains the dynamics that are at play. [7].

Command

Overall Command

ISAF command rotated among different nations on a 6-month basis. However there was tremendous difficulty securing new lead nations. To solve the problem, command was turned over indefinitely to NATO on August 11, 2003. This marked NATO's first deployment outside Europe or North America. That day, Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to NATO wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the mandate of ISAF should be expanded beyond the capital Kabul. One option he suggested would be for NATO to participate in U.S.-led "Provincial Reconstruction Teams" which were already active in trying to enforce security outside Kabul.

As of April 2007, 25 Provincial Reconstruction Teams are active in the country and under the command of different NATO nations.

The history of ISAF command is as follows:

Regional Command

South

The command of the region is rotating among Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom

Contributing nations

All of NATO members are contributing troops to the ISAF, as well as some other partner states of NATO. The numbers are based in part from the NATO[5]; when more recent numbers are available they are given.

ISAF is also being backed by 28,600 troops of the Afghan National Army and 30,200 Afghan policemen, who are described by the British Ministry of Defence as "fully equipped and trained".

NATO nations

  •  Bulgaria – 100. In 2007 Bulgaria will send 200 more soldiers.
ISAF soldier from Canada helping Afghan child.
  •  Canada – 2,500 in Kandahar. Canada is one of the few countries to allow its troops to actively engage the Taliban in the dangerous South and has suffered a high proportion of the allied casualties.
See main article Canada's role in the invasion of Afghanistan.
  •  Czech Republic – 224 troops involved in three operations, as of October 2007. The largest unit was deployed to Kabul in March 2007 and consists of eighty-three medical staff manning a field hospital, a thirteen-man Chemical detachment, and three military policmen. A further ninety-one troops operate alongside Danish and German troops in the provincial reconstruction team at Fayzabad in Badakhshan province, where Czech forces have been situated since 9 March 2005. A third contingent was sent to Afghanistan at the end of April 2007, and involves 35 members of the Czech military police, who are attached to British forces in the Southern Helmand province.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).. The majority of the troops are attached to British forces at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, although 100 soldiers were withdrawn from southern in Afghanistan in August 2007 due to a sustained, intense bombardment of their camp[8]. Around fifty troops are serving in PRTs in the provinces of Mazar E Sharif, Feyzabad and Ghor along with the forces of other countries. Danish troops are involved in some of the worst fighting their armed forces have undertaken since the Second War of Schleswig.
  •  Estonia – 130 troops as of November 2006. The majority of Estonian troops have been deployed to PRT Lashkar-Gah in the southern province of Helmand, together with the forces of the United Kingdom and Denmark[9].
File:2REG demining Afghanistan 0604372617302.jpg
French deminers in Afghanistan.
File:2REG demining Afghanistan 040534301458462354.jpg
Demining operations are delicate, but sometimes robots may be used.
  •  France – Approximately 1,100 as of April 2007. The French forces are deployed in Kabul under operation Pamir XVI, a recurrent five-month deployment that officially began in July 2006. Six French fighter and two refuelling aircraft are based at Dushanbe airport, Tajikistan; from where they conduct operations in support of ISAF. A French naval force, including the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, is also situated in the nearby Indian Ocean. A mixed unit of two hundred naval, air force and army special forces personnel were withdrawn from Southern Afghanistan in early 2007.
  •  Germany – 3,424 as of 25th July 2007[10], making Germany the third largest troop contributor to ISAF. Germany leads Regional Command North, which is based in Mazar i Sharif. The task of German forces is to assist the Afghan government with security and reconstruction in the four northern provinces of Kunduz, Takhar, Baghlan and Badakhshan. Germany leads the Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the provinces of Kunduz and Badakhshan. A number of German troops are stationed at a supply and staging base in Uzbekistan (these are included in the troop figure). Additionally, in April 2007, six Panavia Tornado reconnaissance jets, with 188 corresponding personnel (also included), were deployed to Mazar i Sharif in support of ISAF combat operations in the country. [11]. The mandate issued by the German Parliament, does not allow the Bundeswehr to take part in combat operations against the Taliban insurgency in the south and east of Afghanistan, other than in exceptional circumstances.
  •  Greece – ~170 as of 2005, some of whom were stationed at Kabul International Airport, while others manned various hospitals. Of the 170, around 130 were soldiers and 40 were air force personnel.
  •  Hungary – 180 as of June 2006[12]. The Hungarian infantry unit was situated in Kabul, however, on 1 October 2006, Hungary requisitioned its forces and took over responsibility, from the Dutch, for the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the town of Pul-e Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province.
  •  Italy – 2,160 as of 13th September 2007[13]. Italian troops currently lead Regional Command West, and the PRT in Herat Province. The mandate issued by the Italian Parliament, does not allow Italian forces to take part in the battle against the Taliban insurgency in the south and east of Afghanistan, other than in exceptional circumstances.
  •  Luxembourg – 9 as of July 2007[15]. Luxembourg is working together with Belgium in BELU ISAF 13. The Luxembourgian team is integrated in a Belgian platoon (2 NCO's and 7 soldiers) and provides 1 officer to the staff of the Force Protection group at KAIA.
Royal Netherlands Army Pzh-2000 firing on Taliban in Chura. June 16, 2007.
  •  Norway – 500 as of 2 October, 2007[16]. Norwegian ISAF forces are divided between Kabul International Airport which they currently run; [[Meymaneh] in Faryab province where they lead a provincial PRT; and Mazari Sharif, where they operate alongside Swedish forces. Four Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s operated from Kabul airport alongside Dutch F-16s in support of NATO ISAF forces in southern Afghanistan, during 2006.[17] The detachment was known as the 1st Netherlands-Norwegian European Participating Forces Expeditionary Air Wing (1 NLD/NOR EEAW).[18] Two Norwegian soldiers have been killed in action.[19][20]
  •  Poland – 1,200 as of 13th September, 2007[21], most of whom operate in the south-eastern provinces of Ghazni and Paktika. An unknown number of Polish special forces are deployed in the flashpoint southern province of Kandahar.
  •  Portugal – 150 as of June 2007[22]. Portugual's involvement includes an elite infantry company from the Rapid Reaction Brigade and a 7-man Tactical Air Control unit from the Portuguese Air Force. Portuguese troops are rotated every six months: currently, the 2nd Paratrooper Company is deployed and will remain in the country from August 2007 to February 2008. The Portuguese infantry company has operated at Camp Warehouse in Kabul, at Kandahar Airfield, and in the provinces of Farah and Herat. Additionally, the 2nd Commando Company, consisting of about 100 troops, was involved in search and destroy operations as of May 2007, together with Canadian, British and Afghan forces, in Operation Hoover in Kandahar Province. Previously, the Portuguese Air Force had one C-130H in Afghanistan (from July 2004 until July 2005), and a 37-man Air Force unit was responsible for Kabul International Airport from August 2005 until December 2005.
Romanian soldiers in southern Afghanistan.
  •  Romania – 479 personnel[23], consisting of a battalion in Qalat. Additionally, a special forces squad (39 personnel) operates in an unknown location, and a training detachment of 47 personnel is in Kabul under the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom.
  •  Slovakia – 60. Multifunctional engineer company located in Kabul International Airport. Responsible for demining, building and repairing the airport.
Spanish soldiers at an airbase in Afghanistan.
  •  Spain – Approximately 690.
  •  Turkey – '1,150 as of 14th May, 2007[24], at least 400 of whom are logistics and communications personnel. Turkey's responsibilities include providing security in Kabul (it currently leads the Kabul Command), as well as in the as the central-eastern province of Wardak, where it leads PRT Maidan Shahr.

Turkey was once the third largest contingent, and remains the only Muslim country in ISAF.

British patrol in Helmand province.
The UK was one of the first countries to join the US-led coalition into Afghanistan. As of August 2007, the number of UK troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001 was 73. (Including 22 in accidents, from illness, or by non-combat injuries.) [26]
The RAF has numerous planes and helicopters positioned in the country, including C130 cargo planes, CH-47 heavy lift helicopters, Nimrod surveillance planes as well as a squadron of Harrier GR9 attack planes. The army air corps also provides a number of Westland Lynx and WAH-64 Apache helicopters.
They are officially there to help train Afghan security forces, facilitate reconstruction, and provide security. But over 2006, the situation in the north of Helmand turned increasingly violent, with British troops involved in fierce firefights against the Taliban and anti-coalition militia.
British troops have been involved in heavy clashes in the towns of Sangin, Musa Qala, Kajaki and Nawzad.
US soldiers provide security during a meeting with the district governor in Sabari, Afghanistan, March 6, 2007.
The article Q&A: UK troops in Afghanistan (BBC News) gives also a list of the British units which are taking part in the ISAF mission. [27]. According to this article, ISAF is also being backed by 28,600 troops of the Afghan National Army and 30,200 Afghan policemen, who are described by the British Ministry of Defence as "fully equipped and trained".
8,000 more troops remain under US command to train the Afghan National Army and to hunt Taliban leaders and Al-Qaida members.

Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) nations

Non-NATO / Non-EAPC nations

  •  France – Approximately 1,100 as of April 2007. The French forces are deployed in Kabul under operation Pamir XVI, a recurrent five-month deployment that officially began in July 2006. Six French fighter and two refuelling aircraft are based at Dushanbe airport, Tajikistan; from where they conduct operations in support of ISAF. A French naval force, including the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, is also situated in the nearby Indian Ocean. A mixed unit of two hundred naval, air force and army special forces personnel were withdrawn from Southern Afghanistan in early 2007.
  •  Australia – 870, as of 18 June 2007[29]. The core of the Australian contingent, 685 personnel, are based in the southern province of Uruzgan. Of these, 385 are members of the Dutch-led Provincial Reconstruction Team and are based in Tarin Kowt, at Kamp Holland; while 300 members of a Special Operations Task Group (involving the Australian SAS), which provides security for the PRT. Of the remaining 185 troops, 110 are logistics, command and liasion personnel deployed to Kandahar and Kabul; while 75 personnel form the the Air Force Control and Reporting Centre, situated at Kandahar International Airport, which is responsible for managing air traffic in Afghan airspace. Australia is currently the largest non-NATO contributor of troops to the ISAF. The total Australian deployment in Afghanistan will reach approximately 1000 by mid-2008.[30]

Coalition casualties in Afghanistan

Main article: Coalition casualties in Afghanistan

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan

Main article: Civilian casualties of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan

. Includes also the civilian casualties since the arrival of NATO/ISAF.

Timeline

  • Between February and July 2002, Portugal sent a sanitary team and an air team to ISAF.
  • In November, 2002 ISAF, consisting of 4,650 troops from over 20 countries, was led by Turkey. Around 1,200 German troops were serving in the force alongside 250 Dutch soldiers operating as part of a German-led battalion.
  • In March, 2003 ISAF was comprised of 4,700 troops from 28 countries.
  • On June 7, 2003 in Kabul, a taxi packed with explosives rammed a bus carrying German ISAF personnel, killing four soldiers and wounding 29 others; one Afghan bystander was killed and 10 Afghan bystanders were wounded. The 33 German soldiers, after months on duty in Kabul, were en route to the Kabul International Airport for their flight home to Germany. At the time, Germans soldiers made up more than 40% of ISAF.
  • A study by Care International in the summer of 2003 reported that Kosovo had one peacekeeper to 48 people, East Timor one for every 86, while Afghanistan has just one for every 5,380 people.
  • August, 2003, NATO is taking command and co-ordination of ISAF. ISAF consisted of 5,000 troops from more than 30 countries. About 90% of the force were contributed by NATO nations. 1,950 were Canadian, by far the largest single contingent. However, other reports suggested that about 2,000 German troops were involved. Romania had about 400 troops at the time.
  • 13 October 2003: Resolution 1510 passed by the UNSC opened the way to a wider role for ISAF to support the Government of Afghanistan beyond Kabul.
  • As late as November, 2003, the entire ISAF force had three helicopters.
  • In May 2004, Turkey sent three helicopters and 56 flight and maintenance personnel to work in ISAF.
  • In July 2004, Portugal sent 24 soldiers and one C-130 Hercules cargo plane to assist ISAF.
  • In August 2004, Britain announced that 6 Royal Air Force Harrier GR7 jets from No. 3 Squadron would deploy to Afghanistan, marking the first time RAF fighter jets have been deployed to the country. They fully arrived in September.
  • In September 2004, a Spanish battalion (about 800 men) arrived to provide the ISAF Quick Reaction Force, and an Italian battalion (up to 1,000 troops) arrived to provide the in-theatre Operational Reserve Force. With a force of 100, Georgia became the first Commonwealth of Independent States country to send an operational force to Afghanistan.
  • Stage 1 (North) was completed at October 2004 under the Regional Command of Germany.

ISAF Stage 2

  • In May 2005 ISAF Stage 2 took place, doubling the size of the territory ISAF was responsible for. The new area was the former US Regional Command West consisting of Badghis, Farah, Ghor, and Herat Provinces.
  • September 2005: ISAF Stage 2 was completed under the Regional Command of Italy.
  • On January 27 2006, it was announced in the British Parliament that the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would be replacing the U.S troops in Helmand province as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The British 16th Air Assault Brigade would be the core of the force in Helmand Province.
  • In February 2006, the Netherlands decided to expand the troop contribution with an extra 1,400 soldiers [33].
  • On May 22, 2006, A British Army WAH-64 Apache gunship fired a hellfire missile to destroy a French armoured jeep that had been disabled during a firefight with Taliban forces in North Helmand province the previous day, as it was decided that attempting to recover the vehicle would have been too dangerous. This is the first time UK Apaches have opened fire in a hostile theatre and this would be, in a fashion, the WAH-64's first "combat kill".

ISAF Stage 3

Further information: Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2006
  • 31 July 2006, Stage 3 was completed: The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force also assumed command in six provinces of the south. Led by Canada, 8,000 soldiers are now positioned there. The Regional Command Centre is at Kandahar.
  • With the Taliban regrouping, especially in its birthplace of Kandahar province bordering Pakistan, NATO launched its biggest offensive against the guerrillas at the weekend of September 2 and September 3 2006 (Operation Medusa). NATO says it has killed more than 250 Taliban fighters, but the Taliban says NATO casualty estimates are exaggerated.
  • On September 7 2006, a British soldier was killed and six wounded when their patrol strayed into an unmarked minefield in Helmand, the major drug-growing province west of Kandahar.
  • On 28 September 2006, the North Atlantic Council gave final authorisation for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (NATO-ISAF) to expand its area of operations to 14 additional provinces in the east of Afghanistan, boosting NATO’s presence and role in the country. With this further expansion, NATO-ISAF will assist the Government of Afghanistan in providing security throughout the whole of the country. [34].

The expansion will see the NATO-ISAF controlling 32,000 troops from 37 countries, although the alliance is already struggling to find extra troops to hold off a spiralling Taliban-led insurgency in the volatile south.

ISAF Stage 4

  • 5 October 2006: NATO has also taken charge of Afghanistan's eastern provinces (NATO-ISAF stage 4), which have been under the control of US forces since the Taliban were ousted five years ago. (10,000 coalition troops more moved under NATO command. 31,000 ISAF troops are now in Afghanistan. 8,000 US troops continue training and counter-terrorism separately).
  • 21 October: The Canadian government is growing increasingly frustrated over the unwillingness of mainly European NATO members to deploy troops to help fight mounting Taliban resistance in the south. [35]
  • November: A study by the Joint Co-ordinating and Monitoring Board, made up of the Afghan government, its key foreign backers and the UN, suggests that more than 3,700 people have died so far in 2006. The majority of the dead appear to be insurgents, but it is estimated that 1,000 civilians have also been killed this year, along with members of the Afghan National Army, the NATO-led international security assistance force, and a separate US contingent of soldiers. [36]
  • 28-29 November 2006: NATO summit at Riga (Latvia). Combat curbs have been the most contentious issue at the two-day summit in Latvia, following tension over the reluctance of France, Germany, Spain and Italy to send their troops to southern Afghanistan. Countries agreeing to ease the restrictions on deployment against the Taliban insurgency include the Dutch, Romanians and smaller nations such as Slovenia and Luxembourg. France, Germany, Spain and Italy have said they will now send help to trouble zones outside their areas, but only in emergencies. Next to this the summit saw several countries offer additional troops and training teams. France agreed to send more helicopters and aircraft. NATO commanders say they believe they can move an extra 2,500 troops around the country now some smaller members have relaxed their mission conditions. [37]
  • Friday 15 December: ISAF is starting a new offensive, Operation Baaz Tsuka (Falcon's Summit), against the Taliban at the Panjaway Valley at the province Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.
  • Sunday 4 February: US General Dan McNeill replaced British General David Richards as commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan. McNeill, one of 11 U.S. four-star generals, commanded U.S. troops here in 2002. He is expected to place a heavier emphasis on fighting than peace deals, analysts say. [38] Meanwhile observers and commanders are expecting a new Taliban "spring offensive", and NATO commanders are asking for more troops.
  • Tuesday 6 March: NATO-ISAF launched Operation Achilles, an offensive to bring security to northern Helmand and set the conditions for meaningful development that will fundamentally improve the quality of life for Afghans in the area. The operation will eventually involve more than 4,500 Nato troops and nearly 1,000 Afghan soldiers in Helmand province, according to the alliance.

It focuses on improving security in areas where Taliban extremists, narco-traffickers and other elements are trying to de-stabilize the Government of Afghanistan and to intend to empower village elders.

The overarching purpose is to assist the government to improve its ability to begin reconstruction and economic development in the area. Strategically, the goal is also to enable the government to begin the Kajaki hydro-energy project. [39][40]

Further reading

  • Sean M. Maloney, Enduring The Freedom: A Rogue Historian In Afghanistan.(Dulles: Potomac Books, Incorporated, 2005)

See also

Template:Commons2

Wikinews has related news:

Notes

  1. ^ United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386. S/RES/1386(2001) 31 May 2001. Retrieved 2007-09-21. - (UNSCR 1386)
  2. ^ Official Documents System of the United Nations
  3. ^ United Nations Security Council Verbotim Report 5744. S/PV/5744 page 2. Mr. Churkin Russia 19 September 2007 at 17:20. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  4. ^ NATO OTANAllied Joint Force Command Brunssum - (ISAF)
  5. ^ a b ISAF source stored on www.archive.org International Security Assistance Force
  6. ^ BBC report Deployed to Afghanistan's 'Hell'.
  7. ^ The Washington QuarterlyPoppies for Peace: Reforming Afganistans Opium Industry
  8. ^ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LZEG-6SYRF4?OpenDocument
  9. ^ http://www.vm.ee/eng/nato/kat_359/7913.html
  10. ^ http://www.bmvg.de/portal/a/bmvg/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLd4k3cXcCSYGZbub6kTCxoNQ8fV-P_NxUfW_9AP2C3IhyR0dFRQDyT2zz/delta/base64xml/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS80SVVFLzZfRF80S08!?yw_contentURL=%2FC1256F1200608B1B%2FW264VFT2439INFOEN%2Fcontent.jsp
  11. ^ GAF Recce Tornados to Afghanistan Luftwaffe (German airforce)
  12. ^ http://www.accessmylibrary.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2930&purchase_type=ITM&item_id=0286-15763848
  13. ^ http://www.difesa.it/Operazioni+Militari/missioni_attività_internazionali/
  14. ^ MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE - MILITARY OF LITHUANIA
  15. ^ http://www.armee.lu/index2.html
  16. ^ Official Norwegian Defence Force website: Norske styrker i utlandet Template:No icon
  17. ^ Norwegian Government website: F-16s for ISAF in Afghanistan Template:En icon
  18. ^ Dutch Defense Ministry: Dutch-Norwegian cooperation in Kabul
  19. ^ Aftenposten Newspaper: Taliban threaten more attacks in Afghanistan Template:En icon
  20. ^ Aftenposten Newspaper: "Fallen soldier comes home" Template:En icon
  21. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070913/wl_sthasia_afp/polandafghanistannato_070913204619
  22. ^ http://www.mdn.gov.pt/mdn/pt/Defesa/operacoes/mi/
  23. ^ http://www.forter.ro/index.php?leg=afganistan
  24. ^ http://english.people.com.cn/200705/14/eng20070514_374210.html
  25. ^ Britain to send 1,400 extra troops to Afghanistan, defense secretary says International Herald Tribune - February 26, 2007
  26. ^ British military fatalities in Afghanistan BBC - 5 September 2007
  27. ^ Q&A: UK troops in Afghanistan BBC - 26 February 2007
  28. ^ www.bmlv.gv.at All missions from Austrian troops (German))
  29. ^ http://www.defence.gov.au/opslipper/default.htm
  30. ^ Australia to double Afghan force BBC - 10 April 2007
  31. ^ http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/operations/deployments/afghanistan/nz-prt
  32. ^ ISAF in Afghanistan CDI,Terrorism Project - Feb. 14, 2002.
  33. ^ More Dutch troops for Afghanistan BBC - 3 February 2006
  34. ^ International Security Assistance Force
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference afghan_news1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ Afghan conflict deaths quadruple BBC - Monday, 13 November 2006
  37. ^ Nato hails shift on Afghan combat BBC - 29 November 2006
  38. ^ U.S. general in Afghanistan seen tough on Taliban REUTERS - Feb 5, 2007
  39. ^ ISAF and Afghan Forces launch major operation in the South NATO Press release - 6 March, 2007
  40. ^ Nato in major anti-Taleban drive BBC - 6 March 2007
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