Czech government to send troops to counter al-Qaeda in Afghanistan
Czech troops have served in hot spots around the world before - taking part in missions from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, to Bosnia, and of course post-Saddam Iraq. In the past, such missions have involved peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, and monitoring and prevention against the use of weapons of mass destruction, operations that met with high degrees of success. Now, following a government decision to meet NATO and U.S. requests for help, Czech soldiers may embark on a new mission once again, this time in Afghanistan. Not only to keep the peace, but to operate - for the first time - on the country's 'front lines'.
Czech soldiers have served in Afghanistan before but nothing quite like this: under a Defence Ministry plan approved by the government Wednesday troops from the country's elite Prostejov unit could soon make their way to Kabul - to not only bolster security but to actively help flush out pervasive terrorist cells. Cells said to still be operating in Afghanistan's mountainous regions under the banner of the al-Qaeda organisation and the Taliban. Ondrej Palenik, the head of the Prostejov force stressed on Wednesday that the mission would rely on the careful monitoring of local areas, as well as an active search for remaining al-Qaeda units. He stressed that if given the order Czech soldiers were ready to take such units out.
Still, not all Czech politicians agree sending that Czech troops to Afghanistan is the best idea, even if such a mission does meet NATO and the U.S. requests. At least one opposition party, the Communist Party, has already indicated it would not support sending Czechs to Afghanistan. Communist Party Deputy leader Miloslav Ransdorf:
"It is a question of priorities. We should realise that today Afghanistan is mainly controlled by warlords and the central administration in Kabul has no possibility of interference in other regions..."
But given that NATO and the U.S. have asked for Czech help as NATO allies, and given the fact that security is a major issue in Afghanistan, would it not make sense that Czech special forces - men and women who are specially trained for such situations - help at this time?
"I am of the opinion that to deploy our troops to other countries, including Afghanistan, means to deteriorate the acquisition plan of our army. We are facing now the dissolution now of the structure of the Czech Army and the decay of the combat capacity of our army is evident. This reconstruction of equipment and capacity of the Czech military - these reforms - almost means the army should see a stop to external operations."
Despite Mr Ransdorf's charges, which reflect a long-term questioning stance by Czech communists towards NATO and the Czech Republic's role within it, it seems unlikely the government would embark on such an ambitious mission if it wasn't fully confident in both the military's abilities, as well as the availability of funds. Parliament may still provide something of a hurdle, but only if the ruling coalition fails to hold. There have been some indications several Social Democrats might not support the bill but objection has yet to materialise.
In the end if it is passed the government plan to send soldiers to the front lines of the U.S.-led "Operation Enduring Freedom" will not only be about sending the Prostejov elite; it will also include a second mission, in which several dozen Czech soldiers would serve as minesweepers and military meteorologists under the ISAF peacekeeping mission in Kabul and surrounding areas. The government must now propose its plan for financing the project - early estimates suggest both missions could cost a total of 250 million crowns.
