Czech Army rejects NATO criticism of insufficient support for Afghanistan

A top NATO general has criticized allied nations for not keeping their promises to support the Afghan army. According to the supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe, this is not only hampering efforts to defeat the insurgent militants in the country but will also lead to a later withdrawal of NATO forces. But the Czech Army says it is following the agreed timetable and sending more and better equipped troops to Afghanistan.

Photo: CTK

June was the first month in which more allied soldiers died in Afghanistan than in Iraq. In an interview for the Financial Times Deutschland on Monday, Supreme Allied Commander Europe John Craddock said the situation was “explosive” with the Taliban gaining ever more ground, changing their tactics and targeting civilian infrastructures built in Afghanistan by the international community.

The general said that a lack of funding meant a lack of equipment and training for the re-emerging Afghan army, specifically mentioning the case of Czech helicopters.

The Czech Army donated 12 Soviet-made helicopters to the Afghan government. Six transport Mi-17 choppers have been refitted with modern equipment and are already serving in Afghanistan, while six Mi-24 Hind helicopters are undergoing modernization. A Czech Army official, who didn’t wish to be named, said that contrary to the complaint by General Craddock, the helicopters will only be available by mid 2009, as previously agreed.

Photo: CTK

The Czech Army is currently running four missions within NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, in Afghanistan – a field hospital in Kabul, a Provincial Reconstruction Team in the province of Lowgar, a Special Operations Group in the province of Halmand and an anti-chemical warfare unit in the province of Uruzgan.

ISAF commanders have said that Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other insurgents can only be defeated if more NATO troops are sent to the country. The Czech Army, for their part, are getting ready to comply. The Czech field hospital in Kabul will be pulled out by the end of the year and replaced with another special operations contingent.

Photo: CTK

In September 2007, the Czech army had 224 troops in Afghanistan, while in July 2008, the number had gone up to 394. After the arrival of the Special Operations Group later this year, there will be around 420 Czech troops taking part in NATO operations in the country.

In a reaction to the deteriorating security situation in the province of Lowgar, the Czech government has decided to spend one billion crowns, or more than 66 million US dollars on 30 heavily armoured trucks. The purchase will take place without a public tender to make sure that they will get to the troops as soon as possible. The trucks will replace Humvees which Czech soldiers borrowed from the U.S. military. This unusual step was motivated by a recent incident of a Humvee truck hitting a land mine. One Czech soldier died and four were wounded in the accident.