WEBVTT

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uh , for the reason I asked that

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question is uh , is there any chance

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that those communications can be

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concentrated by the taliban or al Qaida ?

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Because I'm sure that that would be

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something that they would want to be

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doing something they're trying to do

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again . They're very high tech . They

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have their own media centers . So how

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can you protect your communication

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lines ? And are you afraid ? Is that

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one of your worries ?

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The security of our communication is of

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the utmost importance . And we are

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using specialists who have all the

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required equipment and technology uh ,

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to do this and we are teaching or

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training the Afghan National Army to

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take the same care . And from an

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international perspective , there's

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always an exchange of information , a

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learning process . And once you have a

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lessons learned , you have to ensure

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that you pass it on to others . And of

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course , we also use our technology to

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see what to see what the taliban and

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the insurgents are doing because they

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do have their own weaknesses and we

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want to ensure that we are protecting

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our way of doing our business . Uh ,

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uh , so the terrain of Afghanistan is

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also something difficult to maneuver .

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But with time , I'm sure that you guys

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have figured out ? Uh , it's probably

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gotten easier and easier . So , what ,

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what are the , what is the training

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that somebody who come directly into

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Afghanistan ? What crimes training do

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they have to undergo ? The training

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begins back in the country where

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they're coming from all troop

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contributing nations receive a training

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package that they have to go through ,

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like NATO training cell is going

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is traveling to these countries ? Is

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ensuring that they have the right level

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of training before they join in and

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once they arrive in theater , after the

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headquarters has received a special

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training in uh in one given country ,

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they have some supplementary training

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here and part of this is of course

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knowing the tradition , the customs ,

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uh the religion of the country where we

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are operating and we are fully

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conscious that this makes a big

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difference in our operations . In his

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tactical directive , the commander of

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Isaf has made sure that all soldiers

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would understand things that must not

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be done with regards to gender

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differences , how to conduct yourself .

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When you go into a house . The

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invitation uh to go into the house , of

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course , there's always a risk that if

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you are under attack or under threat

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that they will be using force to defend

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themselves to the right of self defense .

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But in general , all these aspects are

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part of a training package . Once they

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are here on the ground and knowing all

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the other threats , uh the I . E . Ds ,

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the improvised explosive device that

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are around and and the latest the

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latest tactics that the insurgents are

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using , we have to share this

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information . That's how we can be

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faster in handling the information than

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the enemy . Now . First speaking of

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traditions and cut them in Afghanistan

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women are not allowed to go outside and

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they are allowed uh interact with males

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that they are not related to . What

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about female soldiers ? Are they on the

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same level as the male soldiers . How

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many female soldiers are there in

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Afghanistan right now ? And what

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special measures are they taking ? Our ,

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what what is the situation of female

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soldiers in Afghanistan right now ?

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Your question has to do with Isaf

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soldiers ? Or are you talking about the

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Afghan National Army ? Because on the

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safe side , there are a lot of female

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soldiers . Many female soldiers . As

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I'm speaking to you here , I there are

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three members of my team and to our

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females . However , if you go into an

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infantry unit , well you wouldn't have

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that higher ratio of course , but you

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still have a lot of female officers and

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soldiers in the field and they are

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trained , trained at the same standard

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and uh with regard to what is happening

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on the Afghan National Army , uh the

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numbers are not very high yet , but

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there is room for them . There there

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are courses uh that are open to them

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and I believe that this training is

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unfolding very well .

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Uh would you have any figures about how

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many female soldiers are in a funny

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funny around figure as a percentage

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of how many male soldiers . Army I do .

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You mean is if ISAF soldiers , I could

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not give you an exact number , but I I

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could venture to say it's between five

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and 10% like in in in in the Canadian

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army for example , we have a 10%

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average . But I guess when you have a

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deployment like this here , It is

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probably somewhere between five and 10% .

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But I can get you this information if

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you need it . Um All

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right . Uh finally , just to finish up ,

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I would ask you once again coming to

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Pakistan , uh , there's been an

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international focus on Pakistan ,

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especially with the political condition

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within our country . People are worried

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about Pakistan truly becoming a state

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haven . So , how is the ISAF

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considering the frontier region of

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Pakistan ? And are there plans or any

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idea of us have you haven't come here ?

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Our area of operation is completely

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limited to Afghanistan . We know how

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important Pakistan is to a solution in

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this region . However , with regards to

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ice after current operations , there's

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uh , there's no directly except for the

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coordination of the action and uh , you

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know that there have been a lot of

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operation in the bazaar area and more

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to the south in in uh , like

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we keep saying that there's going to be

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a regional solution , right ? And it's

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hard to say that this is Afghanistan

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and Pakistan because the terrorism

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endorsed is so intermingled . So , I

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just find it like I can't understand

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how we can solve the problem in

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Afghanistan without addressing the

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problem in Pakistan

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and this is why the politicians are

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meeting this is why the politicians are

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considering different options to try to

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find a regional solution . That's why

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you hear about so many of these

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meetings that are happening this month

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and next month . And and probably in

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the year to come to find to find a

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solution . But that belongs to the

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political level . At the military level ,

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we have to see what is being decided .

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This will be translated into military

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objectives and then we'll take action .

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That's that's how it has to happen .

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Yeah . In terms of military objectives .

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Uh , what what are the upcoming

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challenges ? What what are the goals

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that you still have to achieve ?

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Besides ? Uh , besides these are like

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long term goals . Peace security .

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These are long term goals in the short

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term . What are you trying to achieve ?

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Yeah , it varies , it varies greatly

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from one area to another . There are

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there are operations that are being

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conducted in the north , for example ,

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that are concentrating on

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reconstruction in many areas that have

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been agreements with the local elders ,

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with the district governor's as to what

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kind of of improvement they wanted to

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see in their localities , in their

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municipalities and the international

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community is providing the resources to

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make these changes in a lot of cases is

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related to education is related to

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hospitals , it's related two factories

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that are being built . I mean , this

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progress is making a difference in a

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lot of areas in Pakistan in in

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Afghanistan . When you are looking at

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what is happening in the south and in

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the east , you still have a lot of

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kinetic action . You have to use force

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to simply allow the arrival

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of resources from the international

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community . So you cannot describe in

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just a couple sentences what is

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happening throughout the , throughout

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the nation . It has to be looked at

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individually . And we are quite

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encouraged when we see the afghan

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taking the lead in these operations ,

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whether whether it is on the civilian

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side or if it is happening on the

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military side , that the Afghan

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National Police or the Afghan National

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Army is establishing what needs to be

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done . We help them in the planning of

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it . They are part of the planning and

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they are leading in the execution of it .

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That's really a sign of progress . And

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that's a sign that at one day we will

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reach a tipping point where they will

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be able to do it by themselves , where

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the Afghan institutions will be strong

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enough to ensure that we are reaching

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that level