Berlin: Senior US diplomat Richard
Holbrooke has acknowledged that institution-building in
Afghanistan would have to start "from scratch" in the ninth
year of engagement, in an interview published today.
Holbrooke, special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan,
told Germany's daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that international
cooperation since the deployment in Afghanistan in 2001 had
often been chaotic.
"The issue of responsibilities was difficult. The
British were to have dealt with drugs, the Germans with
training and the Italians with the justice system," he said,
in remarks published in German.
"The whole thing was uncoordinated and did not get us
very far. The upshot is that in the ninth year of the war we
are starting from scratch."
Holbrooke said the top priority in the strife-wracked
country was the training of Afghan security forces.
"That is the only way we will be able to withdraw the
allied troops in a reasonable amount of time," he said.
He admitted the country had "enormous" problems
including corruption, a booming drug trade and high
illiteracy, even among civil servants.
Holbrooke said he had ordered reading and writing to
be included in training for security forces.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 09, 2009, 17:33