Afghanistan seeks control of army funds, hardware

Afghanistan said on Thursday it would seek control of billions of dollars of Western money going to the Afghan army and needed helicopters, planes and heavy guns to take charge of security from foreign troops. The demands came in a statement from the office of President Hamid Karzai, which also threatened new measures against some private security firms operating in Afghanistan.
With 150,000 troops locked in an unpopular and escalating war, the United States and its Nato-led allies aim to gradually withdraw their own troops and transfer responsibility for security to Afghan forces by 2014, starting this year. Critics have questioned the timetable and the ability of Afghan forces to take the lead, given a growing insurgency that is killing more troops and civilians than at any time since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.
Karzai instructed senior security officials to start immediate discussions with the US military to "accelerate" the transition, the statement said. It called for the West to fund the army directly through the Afghan Defence Ministry, giving it control of procurement of supplies, equipment and munitions. The army also needs air assets, ground vehicles and heavy machineguns, and the international community should commit to fund and equip the expanding Afghan army in the long-term, it said, without giving further details of the equipment wish-list.
"These necessities of the Afghan army must be addressed as soon as possible," the statement said. The US embassy and the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force were not immediately available for comment. Afghan officials have long complained that donors undermine the central government's authority and capacity by funding programmes that run parallel to Afghan schools, clinics and other facilities, or dictating how funds given to ministries are spent. Diplomats say concerns about corruption and strict accountability rules from their own governments often make separate programmes more effective and better value for money.