Formed on December 20, 2001, by the United Nations Security Council, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was tasked with securing the Afghani capital of Kabul to permit the formation of the Afghan Transitional Administration. The UN felt it was necessary to provide international military support to protect against interference from the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and local warlords. Initially, the UN planned for the force to grow to 5,000 soldiers, however due to ISAF's expanding role in providing reconstruction support and combating insurgents, its current strength (May 31, 2007) is around 35,500.
ISAF is commanded from its headquarters in Kabul. First led by the UK's Major General John McColl, command of the ISAF initially rotated on a six-month basis. This was halted on August 11, 2006, due to the UN's difficulty in securing new lead nations to oversee the mission. In place of rotating leadership, the UN indefinitely turned over command to NATO, marking the alliance's first ever operation outside of Europe or North America. Following expansion of ISAF's mandate to cover all of Afghanistan, the force's operations have been overseen by five regional commands that report to headquarters in Kabul.
On October 13, 2003, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1510 permitted ISAF to conduct missions outside of Kabul. Later that month 230 German soldiers were deployed to the region of Kunduz, marking ISAF's first operation away from the capital. In May 2005, ISAF expanded its responsibility (ISAF Stage 2) to cover Badghis, Farah, Ghor, and Herat Provinces which had previously been overseen by US Regional Command West. This transition was led by the Italians who assumed command of the region. On July 31, 2006, as part of ISAF Stage 3, ISAF took over the southern provinces, replacing US troops.
The full transfer of command from the US-led coalition was completed on October 5, 2006, when responsibility for the eastern provinces was passed to ISAF, giving it control of the entire country. In addition, 10,000 coalition troops were moved under ISAF command, raising troop strength to around 31,000 (an additional 8,000 remained under direct US control). As part of its mission, ISAF also controls twenty-five Provincial Reconstruction Teams which are tasked with improving local security and facilitating rebuilding throughout Afghanistan.
With the upswing in Taliban violence in 2006, ISAF troops began to fulfill a combat role, particularly in southern Afghanistan. On May 17, 2006, NATO launched Operation Mountain Thrust which was designed to root out Taliban fighters. Though heavy casualties were inflicted on the Taliban, the operation did not eliminate the insurgency. ISAF forces have also led or participated in numerous subsequent operations designed to end the fighting and bring stability to the country. A recent success occurred on May 12, 2007, when ISAF forces killed the notorious Taliban leader Mullah Dadullah.
As of August 2007, the ISAF has suffered 579 deaths: 356 American, 68 British, 66 Canadian, 21 German, 21 Spanish, 10 French, 9 Dutch, 9 Italian, 4 Danish, 4 Romanian, 2 Estonian, 2 Norwegian, 2 Swedish, 1 Australian, 1 Czech, 1 Finnish, 1 Portuguese, and 1 South Korean.
Thirty-seven nations are currently represented in the ranks of the ISAF:
NATO Members
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
Non-NATO Contributors
- Albania
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Croatia
- Finland
- Macedonia
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Sweden
- Switzerland
