UK Commander: Afghan Police Alienating Locals, Fueling Insurgency

Exit Strategy Depends on 'Credible, Trusted' Police

Given virtually every exit strategy from Afghanistan has rested in part on the creation of a “credible and trusted” national police force, it should come as no surprise that, nearly nine years after US invasion, there is no end in sight.

In fact, one of Britain’s top commanders Lt. Col. Roley Walker, says it is not only preventing a NATO exit, but is fueling the growth of the insurgency.

We have had cases so often when captured Taliban mention the police for them joining the insurgency in the first place,” Walker noted, adding that people are becoming “disaffected” at the way they are treaty by police.

Walker also cautioned that “not withstanding the casualties we took at the hands of the Taliban I do not believe they were the greatest obstacle that we faced,” rather it was the continued inability to convince the locals to trust the NATO-backed government. It is an old problem in Afghanistan, and one which defies the normal NATO solution of additional funding.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.