2006 in Afghanistan

See also: Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2006, 2005 in Afghanistan, 2007 in Afghanistan and Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001-present).

Incumbents

• President: Hamid Karzai

January

• In 2006, the U.S. Foreign Policy magazine and the U.S.-based "Fund for Peace" think-tank ranked Afghanistan in 10th place on their "failed state index". The authors said their index was based on "tens of thousands of articles" from various sources that they had gathered over several months in 2005. The score was based on 12 criteria that included: "uneven economic development along group lines", "legacy of vengeance – seeking group grievance", "widespread violation of human rights", "rise of factionalised elites", and "intervention of other states or external actors".^[1]
• January 13: Damadola airstrike by US in Pakistan.

February

• February 1: The Afghanistan Compact is developed, establishing a framework of international cooperation with Afghanistan.

March

• March 6 - In 2006, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told President Bush that Pakistan had to deal with a total of over 30,000 fighters crossing from Afghanistan to Pakistan. He also said Pakistan had more soldiers near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, even when ISAF and Afghan forces in the border region are combined.^[2]
• March 29: Battle of Lashkagar. Taliban fighters attack a NATO base.

April

• The 2006 Dutch/Australian Offensive began in late April and lasted until July 16. It was one of the largest offensives launched by the coalition in 2006 and resulted in over 300 Taliban fighters killed and the capture of the Chora Valley as well as the Baluchi areas.

May

• May 15: Operation Mountain Thrust is launched, the largest offensive since the fall of the Taliban.
• May 29: a traffic accident caused by a US military vehicle leads to riots with anti-US and anti-Karzai slogans. According to official estimates and news reports, some 20 people lost their lives in the violence.

June

• June 27: A 16-man British special forces team (consisting mostly of SBS personnel) carried out a "snatch mission" to capture 4 Taliban commanders/organisers near Sangin at 3am. After capturing them, the team was ambushed by 70 Taliban fighters whilst returning to their base, starting a massive firefight: one the UKSF Land Rovers was destroyed by a RPG which forced the team to flee on foot, 2 operators: Captain David Patten, SRR (other sources say SAS) and Sergeant Paul Bartlett, SBS, became separated from the team, they also lost a couple of their prisoners. Both operators were killed whilst another SBS operator was wounded, the team managed to hold off the Taliban for 3 hours until a Gurkha Platoon fought their way through to them, twice, with close air support from 2 Apaches, a U.S. A-10 Thunderbolt and 2 Harrier GR7s. The bodies of Bartlett and Patten were found by a company from the Parachute Regiment, one member of the SBS was awarded the Military Cross.^[3][4][5][6]

July

• July: Battle of Panjwaii between Canadian NATO forces and the Taliban. This battle consists of two phases, one from July–August, and the other September through October 2006.
• 31 July - The ISAF expanded its area of operation with the inclusion of 6 southern provinces: Daykundi, Helmand, Kandahar, Nimroz, Uruzgan and Zabul.^[7]

September

• September 2: Canadians launch Operation Medusa.
• September 16: Operation Mountain Fury.

October

• 2006 German troops controversy

November

In November 2006, the U.N. Security Council warned that Afghanistan may become a failed state due to increased Taliban violence, growing illegal drug production, and fragile state institutions.^[8] In 2006, Afghanistan was rated 10th on the failed states index, up from 11th in 2005. From 2005 to 2006, the number of suicide attacks, direct fire attacks, and improvised explosive devices all increased.^[9] Intelligence documents declassified in 2006 suggested that Al Qaeda, Taliban, Haqqani Network and Hezb-i-Islami sanctuaries had by then increased fourfold in Afghanistan.^[9] The campaign in Afghanistan successfully unseated the Taliban from power, but has been significantly less successful at achieving the primary policy goal of ensuring that Al-Qaeda can no longer operate in Afghanistan.^[10]

December

• December 3: In response to the problems the Canadian forces faced on Operation Medusa, the Leopard C2 tanks of B Squadron of Lord Strathcona’s Horse were deployed to Kandahar in December 2006^[11]

References

1. "Sudan tops 'failed states index'". BBC News. May 2, 2006. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
2. Bumiller, Elisabeth; Gall, Carlotta (March 4, 2006). "Bush Says Pakistan Cannot Expect Nuclear Deal Like One With India". The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
3. Bishop, Patrick (2007). 3 Para. HarperPress. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-00-725778-2.
4. Macy, Ed, Apache, Harper Perennial , 2009 ISBN 978-0007288175, p.2-9
5. "Killed NI soldier 'was due home". BBC News. 6 July 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
6. "Commando who fought off 70 Taliban in Afghanistan is honoured in secret". the telegraph. 22 March 2008.
7. O. Tanrisever (15 February 2013). Afghanistan and Central Asia: NATO's Role in Regional Security Since 9/11. IOS Press. pp. 197–. ISBN 978-1-61499-179-3.
8. "Afghanistan could return to being a 'failed State,' warns Security Council mission chief". Retrieved 1 June 2010.
9. Cordesman, Anthony H. (December 13, 2006). "One War We Can Still Win". The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
10. Afghanistan: and the troubled future of unconventional warfare By Hy S. Rothstein. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
11. Priestley, Stephen (2008-10-08). "In to Action - Canadian Leopard C2 tanks and the TLAV M113A3s in Combat". Canadian American Strategic Review. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-31.