Of course, ISAF will not let Afghanistan down, it is only the current system that will be transformed radically. This was stated at a conference recently held in Camp Pannonia, Afghanistan. The event was organized on the initiative of the HDF Provincial Reconstruction Team (HUN PRT) with the aim of providing a venue for brainstorming and analyzing the lessons learned in the provinces of the northern region that had been involved in earlier phases of the transition process.

“The objective of this day is to discuss together the tasks ahead of us and the foreseeable difficulties, and to get ready for the transition to the best of our ability. We need to be able to learn from the earlier situations and identify those critical areas in time where we need to improve things until the transition” – said Lt.-Col. János Somogyi, the commander of the HUN PRT in his opening speech at the conference. 

The event was attended by the deputy governor of Baghlan Province, the commander of the Operations Coordination Center – Provincial (OCC-P), the legal representative of the provincial police, the representatives of the Regional Command-North (RC-N) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Baghlan as well as the leaders of the HDF Provincial Reconstruction Team (HUN PRT).

The transition is a necessary and irreversible process that needs to be implemented by a deadline. The Afghan governmental and security organs should gradually take over security responsibility from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). They have been preparing for this over the past years, and the time has now come. This was how Maj. Barry Le Belle, a renowned expert on the topic from the Regional Command-North started his presentation.

He said that of course, ISAF would not let Afghanistan down – it is only the current system that would be radically transformed.

In answering some questions at the end of the presentation, Maj. La Belle stressed that the transition process has just begun in earnest. Six of the nine provinces belonging to the Regional Command-North have already been handed over, and the seventh one will be handed over in 2012, but the process has not been completed in any of the provinces. The remaining provinces – including Baghlan Province, the HUN PRT area of operations – will be handed over in 2013-2014. During this process the key aspects will be the security situation, the efficiency of governance and the rate of developments. Each province is coping with different problems. The analysis of the lessons learned is in progress. Baghlan Province is in an especially important strategic and geographical situation because it functions as the “gateway” between the northern and southern regions of the country. First and foremost, the key to successful transition is the good and organized functioning of the governmental organs.

At the end of the conference the participant unanimously accepted the PRT commander’s proposal for setting up a joint working team to set the stage for the transition.

(Ministry of Defence)