Violence, opium production on the rise

U.S. officials nonetheless insist there has been progress in Afghanistan.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. military deaths, suicide bombings and opium production hit record highs in 2007. Taliban militants killed more than 925 Afghan police, and large swaths of the country remain outside government control.

But U.S. officials here insist things are looking up: The Afghan army is assuming a larger combat role, and militants appear unlikely to mount a major spring offensive, as had been feared a year ago. Training for Afghan police is increasing.

Still, six years after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, violence persists in much of southern Afghanistan where the government has little presence, and recent militant attacks in Pakistan highlight a long-term regional problem with al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Civilian deaths caused by U.S. and NATO forces in the first half of the year rattled the government, and more foreign fighters flowed into the country.

Taliban fighters avoided head-on battles with U.S., NATO and Afghan army forces in 2007, resorting instead to ambushes and suicide bombings, but militants attacked the weakest of Afghan forces to devastating effect.

More than 925 Afghan policemen died in Taliban ambushes in 2007, including 16 killed Saturday during an assault on a Helmand province checkpoint.

“The Taliban attack whom they perceive to be the most vulnerable, and in this case it’s the police,” said Lt. Col. Dave Johnson, a spokesman for the U.S. troops who train Afghan police and soldiers. “They don’t travel in large formations like the army does. That puts them in an area of vulnerability.”

Afghanistan in 2007 saw record violence that killed more than 6,500 people, including 110 U.S. troops — the highest level ever in Afghanistan — and almost 4,500 militants, according to an Associated Press count. Britain lost 41 soldiers, while Canada lost 30. Other nations lost a total of 40.

The AP count is based on figures from Western and Afghan officials and is not definitive. Afghan officials are known to exaggerate Taliban deaths, for instance, and NATO’s International Security Assistance Force does not release numbers of militants it killed, meaning AP’s estimate of 4,478 militants deaths could be low.

Seth Jones, an analyst with the RAND Corp. who follows Afghanistan, said the country’s ability to improve governance is vital to defeating the insurgency.

“The thing that concerns me most,” he said, “is the general perception in Afghanistan that the government is not capable of meeting the basic demands of its population, that it’s involved in corruption ... that it’s unable to deliver services in key rural areas, that it’s not able to protect its population, especially the police.”