Rumsfeld Declares a Shift in Mission

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld declared the end of major hostilities against terrorist forces on Thursday and said that the U.S. military is shifting from combat to promoting stability and reconstruction.

Rumsfeld’s message has been evident for months. U.S. combat has wound down to sporadic operations against pockets of resistance. Last year, the U.S. Army unveiled a controversial initiative to build bases in remote provinces where reconstruction, not fighting, is the main task. But the Defense secretary’s remarks, coming at the end of his tour of U.S. military installations in Iraq and the Middle East, is meant to underscore the U.S. perception of progress in Afghanistan and support for the administration of President Hamid Karzai.

“The bulk of this country today is permissive and secure. It’s clear that is the case by the fact we see people returning from across the globe in large numbers, voting with their feet saying that the circumstance here is something they want to be a part of and that’s a good thing,” Rumsfeld said at a news conference with Karzai.

Nevertheless, Afghanistan remains a largely lawless place where the rule of the gun is supreme. Factional violence in remote provinces has surged, just as the United Nations and the Karzai government prepare to demobilize 100,000 militia members.

In his brief visit, Rumsfeld brought no additional troops or resources for Afghanistan; nor did he announce any U.S. troop cutbacks. He was supposed to have made a visit here last Sunday, but his schedule was rearranged after airplane trouble on the flight delayed his arrival from Washington.

Rumsfeld did not follow the original plan to visit Bagram military base, the remodeled Soviet-era installation 35 miles north of Kabul and home to most of the 8,500 U.S. military personnel based in Afghanistan. He did pay a quick call on a new Afghan national army installation and promised continued support.

The United States has committed $1 billion a year in aid to Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003, including $230 million to train and house 9,000 soldiers in what could become a 70,000-strong Afghan army. A functioning army is a prerequisite to any withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Since the Taliban were driven from power in late 2001, U.S. combat activities have been largely restricted to dealing with isolated incursions by remnants of the Taliban and the Al Qaeda terrorist network, often from the rugged and unruly border area with Pakistan.

Those encounters are dangerous and often lead to casualties. Two U.S. airborne troops died in an April 25 shootout with suspected terrorists near the Pakistani border in Paktika province and two died March 29 in an ambush in Helmand province.

Rumsfeld praised the Army’s new civil assistance program involving eight so-called provincial reconstruction teams. The minibases of up to 70 soldiers are meant to plan and finance infrastructure projects such as schools, roads and clinics, while providing armed protection for such projects.

The plan is to put the bases in areas where civilian aid agencies are reluctant to go because of the lack of security. Some civilian agencies say the bases run the risk of blurring the distinction between relief and military functions. Others have said the troops provide welcome security in a country with very little of it outside the capital.

Rumsfeld also repeated the hope, expressed previously by U.S. military brass, that other countries will pitch in to establish and fund the provincial reconstruction teams. So far, only Britain has agreed to set up such a base, in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Afghanistan has seen a large number of criminal and terrorist acts in recent weeks, although the Interior Ministry said Thursday that violent incidents in April were down by a third from March. Rumsfeld brushed aside a reporter’s assertion that Afghan security had taken a turn for the worse.

“Deteriorated? I don’t think I’d say that. We expect there will be flare-ups and as they occur, they’ll be dealt with,” he said.

He also thanked Karzai for his leadership and his “help in the global war on terror.” He said he noticed on arriving here that Afghanistan’s recovery seems further advanced than on his last trip a year ago.

“You feel the progress, the energy in the streets, the kiosks, the active people, cars moving around, young children are out in the streets again. It’s a measure of progress, the success taking place here. It warms the hearts of those of us that wish this country well,” Rumsfeld said.