Afghanistan: Slipping out of control

A grim picture of spiraling violence and a disintegrating society has emerged in Afghanistan in a confidential NATO report, just as Barack Obama vowed to send 17,000 extra American troops to the country in an attempt to stem a tide of insurgency. Direct attacks on the increasingly precarious Afghan government more than doubled last year, while there was a 50 percent increase in kidnappings and assassinations. Fatalities among Western forces, including British, went up by 35 percent while the civilian death toll climbed by 46 percent, more than the UN had estimated. Violent attacks were up by a third and roadside bombings, the most lethal source of Western casualties, by a quarter. There was also a 67 percent rise in attacks on aircraft from the ground, a source of concern to NATO which depends hugely on air power in the conflict. The document, prepared by the Pentagon on behalf of the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and seen by The Independent, also reveal how swathes of the country have slipped out of the control of President Hamid Karzai's government. According to a poll taken towards the end of last year, a third of the population stated that the Taliban had more influence in their locality. Karzai was informed of the new deployments in a telephone call on Tuesday. The Afghan leader had complained publicly at the weekend that he had not heard from the US leader since the inauguration almost a month ago. Meanwhile, eight years after "liberation" and the fall of the Taliban, many Afghan people still lack basic amenities. Across the country 38 percent of the population did not have access to medical facilities with the figure rising to 44 percent in rural areas.