Filed by KOSU News in World News.
February 8, 2012

On a plateau amid the towering Hindu Kush Mountains, Hukum Khan, a 31-year-old Afghan farmer, has brought his horse to a scenic bridge in the Kapisa province of Afghanistan. Unable to farm during the winter, he rents his horse out to visiting tourists who have come from Kabul, about 60 miles to the south.

Khan says the presence of French troops hasn’t made much difference in his life in the last 10 years. He says if the French really wanted to help now, they should go after the corrupt officials in his province.

But local authorities in Kapisa say the 3,900 French troops deployed here have held an important line against the Taliban. With their superior weaponry and better tactics, they have prevented the Taliban from opening a northern front in their campaign to surround Kabul, according to Muhajir Agha, a local police officer.

Agha concedes that Afghan security forces are not ready to fill the gap if the French leave any time soon. He thinks it will be at least two years before his comrades will be ready to defend Kapisa alone.

But France recently announced it will pull out all combat troops by the end of 2013, a year earlier than other coalition forces. The move came after four French troops were killed by a rogue Afghan solider on Jan. 20.

The French decision has come as a surprise, says Hussian Khan, the head of the provincial council in Kapisa, and it’s left many of his constituents feeling betrayed and abandoned.

“You can’t fight a war if you think there will be no casualties,” Khan says. “We were not expecting such a shameful reaction from a highly developed country like France. They should step up their fight, not just retreat so disgracefully”.

A member of the Afghan parliament from Kapisa, Dr. Mohammad Farouq, says the Taliban is strong in three districts in the southeast of the province, despite many joint Afghan and French military operations against the insurgents.

“A premature withdrawal of French troops will lead to a crisis in this area,” Farouq says. “This is not the right time for them to leave. We do not have the forces to replace them right now to stop the enemy.”

Farouq is afraid the French decision might prompt other NATO countries to follow suit, leaving the Americans to do most of the combat.

Washington says Afghan security forces are growing rapidly and will be able to assume security responsibilities once France pulls out, but there is still doubt by some in the province.

A local council member, who did not want to be named, says when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan more than three decades ago, the French were quick to lend a helping hand because Europe’s security was threatened. Now that Kapisa, one of the smallest provinces in Afghanistan, is threatened by a resurgent Taliban, he says the French are leaving them out in the cold. [Copyright 2012 National Public Radio]