Nearly 300 foreign bases have been wound up as foreign troops are pulled out. Many million dollars worth of military equipment have been destroyed.
A US camp called Leatherneck in Helmand, which was set up at a cost of 34 million USD but was never formally inaugurated, was dismantled.
Nearly 300 foreign bases have been wound up as foreign troops are pulled out. Many million dollars worth of military equipment have been destroyed.
A US camp called Leatherneck in Helmand, which was set up at a cost of 34 million USD but was never formally inaugurated, was dismantled.
General Zaher Azimi the spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) insists they were not consulted before the bases were “destroyed”. “Regarding destruction of bases we say that we should be informed or they should be handed over to us then we would decide whether we need the bases or not?” he says.
ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) officials say there is a base transition process in place, and no decisions are made on the future of coalition facilities including some 800 bases without consultation with Afghan authorities. ISAF spokesman Brig Gen Heinz Feldmann told the media, “Since 2011 we have handed over some of the bases to Afghan friends. But we have closed some of them. We have handed over 490 to Afghans and closed 290.” The coalition forces have established some 800 bases in the country since 2001.
According to Brig Gen Feldmann, “We have a joint commission with Afghans called Bases Closing Committee. Together we discuss whether their maintenance is necessary and useful or not? Whether they would help ensure security? Otherwise they should be closed; the final decision is the Afghan government’s: whether the bases should be kept or destroyed”An ISAF statement in the media said, “The decision process is a partnership that starts with a discussion between commanders and leaders at the provincial and district level, and then works its way up as a recommendation to the ministers of the government of Afghanistan through the Base Closure Commission, established with President Karzai’s leadership back in 2011. … The final decision is made in Kabul by the Afghan government.”
However, a third of coalition bases were dismantled and the government cannot re-establish them, according to MoD.
Aminullah Habibi, head of the Afghan government’s Base Closure Committee, says the final decision regarding the closure of a base is ISAF’s. ISAF discourages some bases from being kept open by saying it requires special training, and are expensive to maintain.
Why is ISAF in favour of dismantling bases?
The ISAF spokesman says it is because the coalition forces “don’t want to put heavy loads on our Afghan friends because maintaining every military base requires much expense.” “Think about electricity and security expenses,” he adds.
Coalition bases handed over to the government are scattered in provinces like Panjsher, Balkh and Ghazni. It is not necessary that each one will be a military base, says General Azimi. It can be used for non-military purposes, he adds.
It is up to the government to decide how the bases will be used, and not for ISAF to dismantle, says Habibi of the Base Closure Committee.
ISAF is spending huge amounts of money to dismantle bases, he adds.
ISAF’s Brig Gen Feldmann says the Bases Closing Committee is holding discussions on the future of some 100 big and small coalition bases after the end-2014 pull out. The decision will depend on the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the US.
“We are now in a phase of discussion regarding the bases: which should be maintained. A final decision will be taken after our political leaders (Afghan and US) decide on the contours of the future mission in Afghanistan. Then we would know how many bases are required,” says the ISAF spokesman.
