Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 04/2010

Build-up of Afghan security forces ill advised

Helge Lurås

January 2010

Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre

Abstract

A well-functioning government is a prerequisite for any successful counter-insurgency strategy and good governance is unlikely to be established in Afghanistan any time soon. As a consequence, the plans for the build-up of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) must be adjusted. This build-up is not only an exit strategy; it is a cover for a "graceful exit", serving a perceptual function in western publics. But in counter-insurgency theory a disconnect between governance and security is anathema.