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Afghanistan Risks New Civil War, CIA Warns
Friday, February 22, 2002
By Michael R. Gordon
The New York Times

"Another school of thought, which is where my brain is, is that why put all the time and money and effort in that [an International Security Assistance Force]?" Rumsfeld said. "Why not put it into helping them develop a national army so that they can look out for themselves over time?"

WASHINGTON -- NYT
The Central Intelligence Agency has warned in a classified report that Afghanistan could once again fall into violent chaos if steps are not taken to restrain the competition for power among rival warlords and to control ethnic tensions, according to senior U.S. officials.

Those familiar with the CIA assessment said it concluded that a civil war in Afghanistan was not imminent. But a senior U.S. official said the report warned that the "seeds of civil conflict" were still present in Afghanistan, given its weak national institutions and long-standing ethnic tensions.

"The report points out that there are tensions between the central and regional authorities and competitions for power within the regions," a senior official said. "The basic message is that we can't be complacent. There is a medium-term potential for a renewal of civil conflict and problems out there that need to be addressed."
(More: The International Herald Tribune Online News Source)
2002 © The New York Times.

Dan