U.S. Mulls Security Assistance for Afghanistan

Feb. 19 -- Amid growing concerns over the precarious security situation in Afghanistan, a U.S. general has begun a mission to help the country's interim administration set up a new Afghan national army.

In the Afghan capital of Kabul this week, Maj. Gen. Charles Campbell, chief of staff of the U.S. Central Command, has held talks with Afghanistan's interim leader, Hamid Karzai, and interim Defense Minister Mohammad Fahim to assess the extent and sort of U.S. aid that may be required to form and operate an Afghan national army.

In a country where an estimated 700,000 Afghans remain armed after more than two decades of civil war, and where allegiances still lie with local warlords or tribal chiefs rather than the central administration in Kabul, there have been growing concerns over Karzai's ability to maintain security in Afghanistan.

The moves to form a modern army loyal to Kabul came as U.S. warplanes, in an apparent shift in military strategy, targeted warring Afghan militia forces over the weekend rather than pockets of Taliban and al Qaeda resistance.

Defending the Interim Government

U.S. Central Command issued a statement on Sunday saying the confrontation began at approximately 2:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, after hostile enemy forces set up a roadblock on a primary roadway.

"When Coalition Forces attempted to pass through the roadblock, enemy forces opened fire, killing one Afghan and wounding three. Subsequently, Coalition Forces called in an airstrike on the enemy positions — U.S. strike aircraft responded, dropping precision guided weapons on the designated targets," the statement read.

It went on to say that U.S. aircraft then made a follow-up strike on Sunday, dropping more precision guided weapons on the targets.

The strikes apparently marked the first time the U.S. military has defended the Karzai administration since the military campaign in Afghanistan began on Oct. 7.

Recent clashes between rival warlords in northern and eastern Afghanistan appeared to have placed the U.S. military in the position of having to defend Karzai, who came to power last December.