Engaging the Afghan Media

Published April 24, 2009
By Maj. Tim Johnson
Combined Air and Space Operations Center Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- The Combined Forces Air Combat Commander (CFACC) for forces in Southwest Asia, Lt. Gen. Gary L. North, met with Afghan media this week to discuss airpower missions and contributions to the safety and security of the Afghan people.

The audience of more than 20 television, radio and news print organizations was eager to hear from coalition air forces and to be able to ask key questions on issues directly affecting the Afghan people.

General North shared with the group the support airpower provides to Afghan and Coalition ground forces as well as to highlight other missions where airpower provides security, reconstruction support and humanitarian aid delivery through airlift and specifically airdrop missions. During the news conference General North was also all able to address directly the issue of "non-combatant" casualties, a very important concern of the Afghan people.

General North stressed the importance of airpower giving support for the friendly forces on the ground. "This mission includes providing intelligence, shows of force and 'fire support' to the Afghan and Coalition forces on the ground depending on the situation they face," the general said.

"If, for example, we have a ground combat mission in a given area, both manned and unmanned aircraft are available to fly over and provide information to the commanders on the ground. This may include information on enemy positions, movement, activity, suspected IED emplacements, or terrain assessments to help provide a complete picture of events for them," he explained.

Gen North then added, "When the situation involves the tactic where the enemy is fighting against Afghan and Coalition forces in and around civilians we are called in to provide a show of force. When an Afghan or Coalition ground force is under fire from the enemy and the situation is more severe we are called in to provide direct fire support in the form of air strikes.,"

The general also made the point that the Coalition air forces do so much more in Afghanistan than supporting ground operations. He highlighted the support provided for Humanitarian missions throughout Afghanistan. This includes flying over a route to support ground movement of humanitarian supplies, such as the world food convoys; or providing airdrop missions with humanitarian supplies or resupplies for Afghan and Coalition forces in more dispersed locations.

"We have also used our aeromedical flights to get injured Coalition as well as Afghan forces and civilians to medical care when the situation calls for medical support," General North said. "These types of missions ensure that both Afghans and Coalition members have the medical support they need, in a timely, safe manner."

The general elaborated other airpower missions of which he said many people may not be aware. These included protective operations for national assets like city centers, government buildings, roadways, dams, and power plants.

"Protecting these very valuable assets is vitally important for the security of Afghan citizens. This helps ensure that the enemy is not capable of disrupting or destroying the essential services citizens need to survive every day," he said. "We also are able to help provide security for special events like holiday celebrations or elections because we know the enemy is focused on doing all they can to disrupt these very important events."

The general then addressed the issue of non-combatant casualties, acknowledging that there is no more important or more widely reported subject related to the Afghan conflict in the last few months.

"We are all aware that the conditions that we have faced in Afghanistan since 2001 have put at risk innocent Afghan citizens whose only desire is to live their lives in peace with dignity and respect," he said. "We also know that the enemy we face has a history of harming innocent citizens to spread their message of hate throughout the world. This war began in the first place because three thousand innocent citizens were killed at the World Trade Center in the United States. We have also seen Taliban-supported Al Qaeda attack civilians in London, Madrid and countless other cities with the intent of spreading hate and fear through the deaths of non-combatants."

He went on to make the point that the tactic of insurgents killing the innocent has continued in Afghanistan, as anti-Afghan forces continually put Afghan citizens at risk by engaging Afghan and Coalition forces from positions in and around non-combatants.

"Make no mistake about it, this is a purposeful strategy. The goal of every insurgency is to make it appear that the government cannot protect its citizens. For every civilian death anti-Afghan forces point to the government or coalition forces as responsible; even though it is their actions that have put these non-combatants at risk," he added.

The general also went on to say that not all the non-combatant casualties have been caused by the enemy.

"Although our desire is that no non-combatants are harmed during our operations, mistakes have been made and we have also been responsible for casualties," he explained. "We regret these events and work very hard every day to try and keep them from happening."

"Not only do we take it as our duty to protect the innocent Afghan population, but there is no action that hurts our goal of eliminating safe havens for terrorism and providing a stable environment for the future of this country than when non-combatant Afghan citizens are harmed. Having the support of the Afghan people is extremely important to our collective success," he added.

General North additionally explained that no matter how hard coalition and Afghan forces work, combat operations remain very dangerous to the local populations when anti-Afghan forces "shoot and hide and run into a village, and continue to shoot and prosecute an attack against either Afghan or coalition security forces using non-combatants as human shields."

"This is a very dangerous business that we find ourselves in, and we take this situation very seriously. I require my staff to be exhaustive in how they identify targets and use our weapons. We require our pilots to have absolutely positive identification of enemy forces before they release a weapon. Then we evaluate every release that is made and we work tirelessly every day towards ensuring our application of proportional force is exacting and accurate," he concluded.