Since our international peacekeeping and reconstruction effort is going to be handled by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), they will be in charge of overseeing the overall security effort and measures through the Council for a Sustainable Afghanistan’s (CSA) Security Department. For the first two years of our plan, until all American military troops have been withdrawn, we will obtain Afghanistan’s new security forces from the countries that make up the greater CSA. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will contribute to the formation of the Security Department so that it will involve other Muslim countries. Therefore we will encourage countries such as Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, and other stable countries in the area around Afghanistan to provide troops for our new peacekeeping security force, the Muslim International Peacekeeping Force (MIPF).
This new security strategy needs to pursue an agenda that is sustainable for Afghans and unites international donors to the cause of providing legitimate protection and safety to the local people. Our security strategy will be based on the view that in order to deal with security threats, such as insurgency and irregular warfare, effective capture operations will require the help and political support of indigenous populations. Thus, securing the population and reducing civilian casualties will be the focus of our attention. This approach, as opposed to offensive operations against insurgents, should be more favorable to the Afghanistan government.
The key to a successful peacekeeping security effort will be in having this international force work together with the Afghans, then phase out the international personnel and hand over control of the security force to the local population. Additionally, since Afghans put greater significance on local relationships and governance, we will stress providing security at a local level and work to ensure the security of local governance.[1]
Formation of the Muslim International Peacekeeping Force:
Because of the composition of the MIPF, this international peacekeeping force should be well accepted by the local Afghan population and will not be seen as an imposing or hostile force. American and NATO troops who are currently in Afghanistan will have the option of either leaving the country altogether or staying in Afghanistan to receive eight months of training to be redeployed as peacekeeping security forces for a term that will last until the end of 2014.
The first group of MIPF troops will also receive this standard eight months of training, which will be conducted by UN staff with support and assistance from remaining American and NATO troops. The first group of security forces will focus on stabilizing and protecting transportation routes, the densest civilian centers, communities that are particularly at risk of insurgency, and important humanitarian programs.
Overtime, we will disassociate the MIPF troops from the American military as the current military troops withdraw. All future rounds of peacekeeping security personnel that come into Afghanistan will be trained solely by existing MIPF troops and not American or NATO military personnel. After the first round of MIPF troops from the OIC member states is in place and trained, we will introduce additional rounds of new MIPF troops made up of Afghanistan citizens in addition to some OIC member state personnel. Eventually, by 2014, OIC member states will no longer be allowed to send troops to join the MIPF and only Afghanistan citizens will be recruited for this peacekeeping security force. This process of deploying MIPF troops will take the focus away from international bodies occupying Afghanistan and will instead provide jobs and opportunities for local citizens. Also, by having a plan that slowly creates a peacekeeping security force made from Afghans, this creates a security force that understands the problems in Afghanistan and will be trusted by the local population.
Human Security:
Our security effort will fit into our overall development plan by focusing on human security, which is described in the 1994 UNDP Human Development Report as “safety from such chronic threats as hunger, disease, and repression; and protection from sudden and hurtful disruptions in the patterns of daily lives, whether in homes, jobs or communities.” Therefore, by having an overall framework that supplies Departments of Security, Health, Infrastructure, Civil Society, Women’s Issues, Education, Demilitarization, Election Regulators and Economy, our peacekeeping and reconstruction effort builds a focused, multidimensional policy response that covers any area that could potentially pose a security threat within Afghanistan. Researchers from the Institute of Development Studies have found that usual causes of insecurity in conflicts like that in Afghanistan are due to a combination of social, political and economic factors, and thus they cannot be solved by addressing any one factor in isolation. This is why each of our departments essentially addresses security because each department aims to provide for the human security of Afghanistan’s population.[2]
MIPF and Local Security:
An important goal of the MIPF will be to “guard against the creation of militias and other illegally armed groups that are not under the control of the government.” The MIPF will not take the place of the Afghan National Police (ANP), but will form a partnership so that the two forces work together, with the ANP continuing their policing duties and receiving some additional training and supervision from the MIPF to ensure the ANP’s legitimacy and cooperation with peacekeeping forces.
The MIPF troops will be divided up among the provinces to form village-level security. Each province will have its own Provincial Head of Security who reports to the head of the Security Department. In each of the provinces there will be a Community Defense Initiative (CDI) made up of one-third ANP personnel two-thirds MIPF troops. These CDIs will bolster local security and provide an incentive for Afghan tribal leaders to form their own groups to guard against Taliban insurgents. The CDIs will also assist local populations in providing their own security with defensive neighborhood watch programs. Additionally, to promote these CDIs, when an individual province stabilizes their local area they will receive incentive development security aid.[3]
MIPF Training and Accountability:
Our peacekeeping security troops will be trained and deployed in a way that will minimize clashes with local factions or parties so that there will be no casualties on either side. All rounds of MIPF troops will be held to the high standards of humanitarian laws throughout their duties of peacekeeping and peace-enforcement. There will be regulations in place that hold peacekeeping troops to these standards, which can impose discipline when needed and will include a well-defined command structure over troops in order to ensure their efficiency and success.
In order to create this standard that our troops and all other parties involved in the conflict must follow as it relates to international humanitarian law, we will establish a war crimes tribunal that will be accompanied by publicity, which together will help to erode the chance that the laws of wars cannot be enforced. The war crimes trials will take the form of an International Criminal Tribunal for Afghanistan (ICTA) and will follow the example of the war crimes tribunals of Yugoslavia, such that this UN body will prosecute serious crimes committed in Afghanistan and will try their perpetrators. The main purpose of this tribunal is to set a standard of following humanitarian laws so that security can be brought to and maintained in Afghanistan.[4]
Additional Assignments for MIPF Troops
The CSA’s Election Regulator Department (ERD) will receive a portion of MIPF troops. These troops will receive additional training and instruction in providing security for Afghanistan’s current government and providing security throughout the entire election process when the next elections are held in 2014. This special ERD Police Force will be stationed throughout Afghanistan’s 34 provinces during busy election times, but will be stationed in Kabul the rest of the time to ensure security for government officials.
An additional percentage of MIPF troops will be assigned to providing security within the Judiciary System. We will also be sure to include women in our MIPF troops, which will set an example for the ANP to involve women in their policing forces.
Security Department Budget
The Security Department has a budget of $450 billion. The main portion of this department’s budget, about $200 billion will go toward training Muslim International Peacekeeping Force (MIPF) troops in the proper ways to deliver effective and peaceful human security. Another portion of this aid, about $100 billion, will be funneled to villages to form their Community Defense Initiatives. This means that each of the 34 CDI’s will receive about $2 billion for local security measures and an additional $1 billion in incentive development security aid. The Election Regulator Department will receive about $50 billion. The International Criminal Tribunal for Afghanistan will receive about $50 billion. This leaves about $50 billion left that has yet to be allocated to specific security efforts and will be saved in case of emergency assistance if needed to use against the Taliban or other insurgencies or violence.
[1] Christopher J. Lamb and Martin Cinnamond, “Unity of Effort: Key to Success in Afghanistan,” Strategic Forum, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, no. 248 (Oct 2009).
[2] Deepayan Basu Ray and Richard Jolly, “Bridging security and development:People-centred approaches needed,” (May 2007). http://www.eldis.org/id21ext/insights66art2.html.
[3] Tazreena Sajjad, “Peace At All Costs? Reintegration and Reconciliation in Afghanistan,” Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Issues Paper Series (Oct 2010).
[4] Ray Murphy, “International humanitarian law training for multinational peace support operations – lessons from experience,” International Review of the Red Cross, no. 840 (Dec 2000): 953-968.
