US general: 'West is failing Afghans'

Kabul: Pace of reconstruction 'frustrating' says military chief

As American and British cruise missiles create havoc in Baghdad, a US general has accused the West of failing to do enough to rebuild the last country visited by President Bush's military – Afghanistan.

His remarks come amid widespread fury in the international community over the US-British invasion of Iraq, coupled with concern that the onslaught began before adequate preparations had been made for a possible humanitarian crisis.

The chief of the US forces in Afghanistan, Lt-Gen Dan McNeill, said he was "frustrated" that the West had "not made a more bold step" to rebuild Afghanistan, adding that this could be an important lesson for Iraq. The US search for al-Qa'ida and the Taliban would have been easier if the aid had flowed faster, he said.

His remarks echo the worries of many in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul, ranging from international aid workers to officials in the unstable transitional government of President Hamid Karzai. Fears abound that the war in Iraq, and its aftermath, will mean that international support falls away.

Although the US has repeatedly portrayed post-war Afghanistan as a success story, frustration has been steadily growing on the ground over the slow pace of reconstruction, which in many cases has scarcely begun.

General McNeill – who commands 10,500 troops in Afghanistan, of whom 8,500 are American – said that foreign aid had helped avert a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, but some countries had not fulfilled subsequent aid promises.

Speaking at Bagram air base outside Kabul, he said: "What is needed now is an overstep by the international community towards reconstruction.

"Clearly there is a lesson to be learnt for those who have responsibility for other conflicts and post-conflict situations."

The rebuilding of Afghanistan, after a quarter of a century of conflict, has been plagued by squabbles between the US military and international aid agencies, by continuing violence, and by the new government's lack of security control over most of the country.

In most of Afghanistan, fundamental components of the infrastructure – health services, power supplies, communications, education, security services and a road network – are either rudimentary or missing altogether.

Funds for reconstruction have been been a problem from the early stages. A year ago, the World Bank estimated that $10.2bn (£6.5bn) would be needed over the following five years, but international pledges were for about half that sum.

According to a recent report by Care International, the per capita spending of aid money in Afghanistan last year was well under half that of post-conflict Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda and East Timor.

Despite his criticisms, Lt-Gen McNeill said that the US military's mission was "going very well". In the run-up to the start of the Iraq invasion, there had been feverish media reports that the net was closing in on Osama bin Laden. But the general said he had "no compelling evidence" either way to suggest that Osama bin Laden was dead or alive.

He spoke as his forces were involved in their largest operation for more than a year, hunting through villages and mountains of south-eastern Afghanistan.

Their mission has grown beyond a man-hunt for Bin Laden, al-Qa'ida and Taliban elements to encompass other armed elements – such as those led by the warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

It has been complicated by growing opposition to the US military presence, coupled with attacks aimed at destabilising the Karzai government and spoiling efforts to build an Afghan national army.

There was more evidence of this yesterday. Police officials yesterday said that three Afghan soldiers were killed and four kidnapped in pre-dawn attacks on security checkpoints near Spin Boldak in eastern Afghanistan.