Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general

The most senior British military commander in Afghanistan today described the situation in the country as "close to anarchy" with feuding foreign agencies and unethical private security companies compounding problems caused by local corruption.

The stark warning came from Lieutenant General David Richards, head
of Nato's international security force in Afghanistan, who warned that
western forces there were short of equipment and were "running out of
time" if they were going to meet the expectations of the Afghan people.

The
assumption within Nato countries had been that the environment in
Afghanistan after the defeat of the Taliban in 2002 would be benign,
Gen Richards said. "That is clearly not the case," he said today. He
referred to disputes between tribes crossing the border with Pakistan,
and divisions between religious and secular factions cynically
manipulated by "anarcho-warlords".

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He
described "poorly regulated private security companies" as unethical
and "all too ready to discharge firearms". Nato forces in Afghanistan
were short of equipment, notably aircraft, but also of medical
evacuation systems and life-saving equipment.