Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: ©2009BasRietjens,MyriameBollen,MasoodKhalil,andSayedFazlullahWahidi"A s Afghanistan is so clearly demonstrating, one reconstructs dur- ing conflict and stabilization, not after it.Reconstruction is in many ways the essential process that bridges conflict and stabilization." 1 The necessities of reconstruction have frequently drawn the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) into activities that go well beyond its originally intended mission of providing direct security.Examples include contributing to security sector reform such as restoring the rule of law or training the national police and army; delivering essential services such as health care, education, or food; and supporting the functioning of the Afghan authorities.Although most military forces would readily agree that they are not the appropriate actors to be performing nonsecurity-related tasks within the traditional humanitarian domain, in many areas such as the southern Afghan provinces of Helmand, Zabul, and Uruzgan, tenuous security conditions prevent humanitarian organizations from establishing a presence.In some instances these organizations are deliberately targeted by insurgent groups in an effort to prevent them from gaining a foothold or becoming effective in assisting the local populace.2 In such situations, the debate on specific domains 3 becomes less relevant, and military involvement in nonmilitary activities is necessary to provide a temporary gap and gain momentum for reaching the primary military goal: the creation of stability.4
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1577915955