Zápisky z Afghánistánu / Afghanistan Diary

Tento blog píšu ve chvíli, kdy naše letadlo stoupá do mraků nad Kábulem. Z okénka českého armádního speciálu jsou vidět pásy pustých hor, které se táhnou do dálky a jsou stále částečně pokryty sněhem. Afghánistán pod námi pomalu mizí a já se po dvou nevšedních dnech s českými a americkými vojáky i civilisty vracím zpět do Prahy. Podle toho, co jsem slyšel u jednotek na horkých a prašných základnách a od velení ISAF v Kábulu, jsem nyní přesvědčen, že nová strategie v Afghánistánu funguje a země se stává více soběstačnou.

Generál Petraeus byl optimistický ohledně budoucího vývoje v Afghánistánu a šancí koaličních sil na úspěch. Ocenil také vynikající práci, kterou odvádějí v Afghánistánu čeští vojáci i civilisté. Vedli jsme opravdu živou diskusi o pokroku Afghánistánu na cestě k soběstačnosti. Otázky spolehlivé veřejné správy (některé ne nepodobné těm, kterými jsem se zabýval, když jsme zakládali CREW, v Bílém domě a ve strřední a východní Evropě, i když ve zcela jiném kontextu) považovali všichni jako naprosto zásadní v tomto úsilí.
Odjížděl jsem s přesvědčením, že naše úsilí jde správným směrem. Problémy v Afghánistánu sice zůstávají, ale země směřuje k tomu, aby sama dokázala čelit bezpečnostním hrozbám. Hluboký dojem na mě udělala práce mnoha mužů a žen z České republiky, USA a ostatních zemí koalice. Slouží daleko od svých domovů a blízkých a pracují v nelehkých a často nebezpečných podmínkách, aby pomáhali chránit a obnovit celou zemi. Jim a jejich rodinám říkám z celého srdce "děkuji vám mnohokrát".

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I am writing this on a Czech military jet that is climbing into the clouds above Kabul. Outside my window in either direction stretch the forbidding mountains that dominate this land, many with peaks still snow-topped. I am headed back to Prague after two extraordinary days with Czech and U.S. military and civilian forces working together across Afghanistan. From my conversations with everyone--from soldiers in hot, dusty outposts to coalition leadership in Kabul's Green Zone--I came away encouraged that the surge is working.  Real progress is being made towards the transition to Afghan self-sufficiency.
The Czech Republic contributes greatly to ISAF, our NATO effort in Afghanistan. The Czechs "punch above their weight," as General Petraeus explained to us, because they are world-class specialists. One of those specialties is helicopters, and immediately after landing we were ferried around the country by a Czech Army MI -171 helicopter.

Our travelling party (seen above) included General Vlastimil Picek, Chief of the Czech Armed Forces General Staff; Jiří Schneider, Deputy Foreign Minister; Senator Jozef Regec, Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Security and Defense Committee; and other Czech and U.S. dignitaries, including my defense attache, Col. Wally Scales.

Our first stop was Forward Operating Base Sharana, located high in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Paktika Province, near the dangerous border with the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. We got a briefing from the Czech helicopter unit located there, which provides support for ISAF throughout the region.  Below, I am at the base signpost, with Pakistan in the distance.

We spent the morning speaking to officers and troops alike, getting an unvarnished account of the facts on the ground.  As I told General Picek, I was impressed with their candid assessment of both the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain.

After thanking the troops serving in FOB Sharana, we boarded our chopper again for a 45 minute trip to FOB Shank, located in Logar Province. It is the home to a Czech-administered Provincial Reconstruction Team. The PRT is tasked to reconstruct Afghan society in Logar, advising on governance, building schools, training journalists, supporting agriculture projects, empowering women, and otherwise helping the local people transition to self-sufficiency.  The Czechs' own transition to a successful democracy has made them leaders in assisting other countries to transition (even in much different places like Afghanistan). The Czech PRT lives and works side-by-side with U.S. Task Force Patriot, whose command had high-praise for the professionalism of their Czech counterparts. I was proud to help award medals to the Czech troops after our briefing:

We also met at Logar with the commander of the Czech OMLT (Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team) headquartered in neighboring Wardak Province. They live with and mentor the Afghan Army, (including reintegrated Taliban fighters), assisting on every aspect of operations, from tactics to logistics to comms. This is a tough job, including accompanying and mentoring the Afghan fighters under fire in actual battles.
After that long day we heloed back to Kabul where the Czech Ambassador, Petr Pelc, hosted us for dinner at his home.  I had to go all the way to Kabul for some of the best Czech food I have had! We sat on the patio enjoying the pleasant evening; the desert weather and the surrounding mountains reminded me of Tucson.  Here I am the next morning with Ambassador Pelc:

The next day was spent in Kabul. We met with the several Czech units stationed there, including the CBRN Recon Unit. CBRN stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear, and they are the sole CBRN theatre unit in Afghanistan--the only one that ISAF deploys throughout the country. CBRN recon and mitigation is another Czech specialty--in fact, the Czechs host the NATO CBRN Center of Excellence.

We met with both the leaders and troops of that and the other units, including the same candid Q-and-A that characterized our whole trip. We then convoyed to the Green Zone, the vast compound that houses ISAF command and the US Embassy. We met with various civilian and military leaders, including leadership of the ISAF governance and anti-corruption team, ending with a briefing by ISAF Commander General David Petraeus.

General Petraeus was encouraging in his outlook on developments in Afghanistan and the prospects for success for coalition forces there. He also expressed his appreciation for the outstanding work being done by the Czech military and civilian personnel serving in the country. I should note that we had a vigorous discussion throughout the day of progress towards Afghan self-sufficiency. Interestingly, good governance issues (certain of which are not unlike the ones I worked on in my law practice, in founding CREW, in the White House, and now in Central and Eastern Europe, although in a very different context”) were thought by all to be absolutely critical to the success of the mission.
I came away persuaded that our joint effort is on track. Yes, challenges remain. But the country is progressing towards taking charge of its own security.  That will allow the Afghan people to govern their own fate. I was deeply impressed with the enormous sacrifice of the many men and women from the Czech Republic, the U.S., and all the other countries of the coalition. Serving far from their homes and loved ones, working under difficult, often dangerous conditions, they are helping protect and reconstruct an entire country. To them and their families, I say from the bottom of my heart, "dekuju vam mockrat".