Author: Peter Baker
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: February 8, 2002
IRAN has begun funnelling money
and weapons to one of Afghanistan's most unpredictable warlords, a move
that could further destabilise a country where order remains fragile at
best, according to government authorities here.
Rashid Dostum, who rules Mazar-e-Sharif,
has been provided cars, trucks, firearms, ammunition and cash to pay his
soldiers, two senior intelligence officials in Afghanistan's interim government
said in separate interviews this week.
While the new Afghan government
is struggling to extend its authority throughout the country, an Iranian
supply line could enable Dostum to expand the territory under his control.
On the other hand, curtailing Dostum's regional dominance could strengthen
the government's position.
An Iranian diplomat denied that
his country is aiding Dostum. However, the intelligence reports could fuel
concerns here and in Washington about Tehran's attempts to influence post-Taliban
Afghanistan at the expense of the interim government's authority.
President Bush has warned Iran not
to interfere in its neighbour's internal affairs and last week branded
it part of an ''axis of evil'' along with Iraq and North Korea. ''Iran
doesn't want Afghanistan to be stable,'' said the chief military investigator
for the Kabul government.
''They don't want the UN (peacekeeping)
programme to be implemented, and they don't want there to be a country
supported by the West.'' An Iranian alliance with Dostum would present
a major new challenge to Hamid Karzai, the leader of the interim Afghan
government, as he tries to rein in Afghan factional leaders while smoothing
over prickly relations with neighboring countries that support them.
On Wednesday, Karzai flew to Herat
to meet with local warlord Ismail Khan, who also allegedly has been receiving
assistance from Iran - a claim that Iran, a longtime ally of Khan's, has
denied. Karzai hopes to secure greater loyalty from Khan. But in many assessments,
Dostum poses a greater threat to the country's cohesion than Khan.
Known for his often brutal methods,
the ethnic Uzbek warlord repeatedly betrayed allies during nearly every
phase of Afghanistan's 23 years of war and has been linked to some of the
period's bloodiest massacres.
Dostum ostensibly was a member of
the Northern Alliance. But he has made only grudging nods toward the new
central authority. At one point, he vowed to boycott it, but after backing
off and attending Karzai's inauguration in December, Dostum was rewarded
with the title of deputy defense minister. However, he has not been seen
in Kabul since and plays no role in the interim administration.
Keram, one of interim Defense Minister
Mohammed Fahim's closest aides, returned recently from a mission to Mazar-e-Sharif,
where he said he confronted Dostum's lieutenants about the reported aid
from Iran.
They denied it, Keram said; Dostum
was in India at the time. But Keram said the Iranian aid was obvious and
that he has documents to prove it, though he did not produce them for inspection.
- LA Times-Washington Post