International Security Assistance Force


The International Security Assistance Force was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 pursuant to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined the creation of a permanent Afghan government following the United States invasion in October 2001. ISAF's primary goal was to train the Afghan National Security Forces and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions; it gradually took part in the broader war in Afghanistan against the Taliban insurgency.
ISAF's initial mandate was to secure the Afghan capital of Kabul and its surrounding area against opposition forces to facilitate the formation of the Afghan Transitional Administration headed by Hamid Karzai. In 2003, NATO took command of the mission at the request of the UN and Afghan government, marking its first deployment outside Europe and North America. Shortly thereafter, the UN Security Council expanded ISAF's mission to provide and maintain security beyond the capital region. ISAF incrementally broadened its operations in four stages, and by 2006 took responsibility for the entire country; ISAF subsequently engaged in more intensive combat in southern and eastern Afghanistan.
At its peak between 2010 and 2012, ISAF had 400 military bases throughout Afghanistan and roughly 130,000 troops. Forty-two countries contributed troops to ISAF, including all 30 members of NATO. Personnel contributions varied greatly throughout the mission: Canada was the largest contributor initially, though by 2010 the United States accounted for most troops, followed by the United Kingdom, Turkey, Germany, France, and Italy; Georgia, Denmark, Norway, and Estonia were among the largest contributors per capita. The intensity of the combat faced by participating countries varied greatly, with the U.S. sustaining the most casualties overall, while British, Danish, Estonian, and Georgian forces suffered the most deaths for their size; Georgian Armed Forces had the highest per-capita casualty rate among coalition members.
Under its ultimate aim of transitioning security responsibilities to Afghan forces, ISAF ceased combat operations and was disbanded in December 2014. Several troops remained to serve a supporting and advisory role as part of its successor organization, the Resolute Support Mission.

Jurisdiction

For almost two years, the ISAF mandate did not go beyond the boundaries of Kabul. According to General Norbert Van Heyst, such a deployment would require at least ten thousand additional soldiers. The responsibility for security throughout the whole of Afghanistan was to be given to the newly reconstituted Afghan National Army. However, on 13 October 2003, the Security Council voted unanimously to expand the ISAF mission beyond Kabul with Resolution 1510. Shortly thereafter, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said that Canadian soldiers would not deploy outside Kabul.
On 24 October 2003, the German Bundestag voted to send German troops to the region of Kunduz. Approximately 230 additional soldiers were deployed to that region, marking the first time that ISAF soldiers operated outside of Kabul. After the Afghan parliamentary election in September 2005 the Canadian base Camp Julien in Kabul closed, and the remaining Canadian assets were moved to Kandahar as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in preparation for a significant deployment in January 2006. On 31 July 2006, the NATO‑led International Security Assistance Force assumed command of the south of the country, ISAF Stage 3, and by 5 October, also of the east of Afghanistan, ISAF Stage 4.
ISAF was mandated by UN Security Council Resolutions 1386, 1413, 1444, 1510, 1563, 1623, 1659, 1707, 1776, and 1917. The last of these extended the mandate of ISAF to 23 March 2011.

History

The initial ISAF headquarters was based on 3rd UK Mechanised Division, led at the time by Major General John McColl. This force arrived in December 2001. Until ISAF expanded beyond Kabul, the force consisted of a roughly division-level headquarters and one brigade covering the capital, the Kabul Multinational Brigade. The brigade was composed of three battle groups and was in charge of the tactical command of deployed troops. ISAF headquarters served as the operational control center of the mission.
Eighteen countries were contributors to the force in February 2002, and it was expected to grow to 5,000 soldiers. Turkey assumed command of ISAF in June 2002. During this period, the number of Turkish troops increased from about 100 to 1,300. In November 2002, ISAF consisted of 4,650 troops from over 20 countries. Around 1,200 German troops served in the force alongside 250 Dutch soldiers operating as part of a German-led battalion. Turkey relinquished command in February 2003 and assumed command for a second time in February 2005. Turkey's area of operations expanded into the rugged west of Afghanistan. The expansion of its zone of activities saw ISAF troops operating in 50 percent of Afghanistan, double its previous responsibility.
On 10 February 2003, German Lieutenant General Norbert van Heyst took command of ISAF, with Brigadier General Bertholee of the Netherlands serving as Deputy. The mission HQ was formed from HQ I. German/Dutch Corps, including staff from the UK, Italy, Turkey, Norway, and others. In March 2003, ISAF was composed of 4,700 troops from 28 countries. Service in ISAF by NATO personnel from 1 June 2003. onward earns the right to wear the NATO Medal if a service member meets a defined set of tour length requirements.
In Kabul on 7 June 2003, a taxi packed with explosives rammed a bus carrying German ISAF personnel, killing four soldiers and wounding 29 others; one Afghan bystander was killed and 10 Afghan bystanders were wounded. The 33 German soldiers, after months on duty in Kabul, were en route to the Kabul International Airport for their flight home to Germany. At the time, German soldiers made up more than 40 percent of ISAF troops.
ISAF command originally rotated among different nations every six months. However, there was tremendous difficulty securing new lead nations. To solve the problem, the command was turned over indefinitely to NATO on 11 August 2003. This marked NATO's first deployment outside Europe or North America.
  • In February 2002, South Korea sent a medical contingent of 99 soldiers.
  • Between February and July 2002, Portugal sent a sanitary team and an air team to ISAF.
  • A study by CARE International in the summer of 2003 reported that Kosovo had one peacekeeper to 48 people, East Timor one for every 86, while Afghanistan has just one for every 5,380 people.

    Stage 1: to the north – completed October 2004

  • On 11 August 2003, NATO took command of ISAF, which consisted of 5,000 troops from more than 30 countries. About 90 percent of the force was contributed by NATO nations. By far the largest single contingent, 1,950 were Canadian. About 2,000 German troops were involved, and Romania had about 400 troops at the time.
  • The first ISAF rotation under the command of NATO was led by Lieutenant General Goetz Gliemeroth, Germany, with Canadian Army Major General Andrew Leslie as his deputy. Canada originally had been slated to take over command of ISAF on 11 August 2003.
  • 13 October 2003: Resolution 1510 passed by the UN opened the way to a wider role for ISAF to support the government of Afghanistan beyond Kabul.
  • In December 2003, the North Atlantic Council authorized the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, General James Jones, to initiate the expansion of ISAF by taking over command of the German-led PRT in Kunduz. The other eight PRTs operating in Afghanistan in 2003 remained under the command of Operation Enduring Freedom, the continuing U.S.‑led military operation in Afghanistan. On 31 December 2003, the military component of the Kunduz PRT was placed under ISAF command as a pilot project and the first step in the expansion of the mission. Six months later, on 28 June 2004, at the Summit meeting of the NATO Heads of State and Government in Istanbul, NATO announced that it would establish four other provincial reconstruction teams in the north of the country: in Mazar-i-Sharif, Meymana, Feyzabad and Baghlan. After the completion of Stage 1 the ISAF's area of operations then covered about 3,600 square kilometers in the north, and the mission was able to influence security in nine Northern provinces of the country.
  • As late as November 2003, the entire ISAF force had only three helicopters.
  • On 9 February 2004, Lieutenant General Rick Hillier of Canada took command, with Major General Werner Korte of Germany as deputy. During this time frame, Canada was the largest contributor to the ISAF force, providing 2,000 troops.
  • In May 2004, Turkey sent three helicopters and 56 flight and maintenance personnel to work in ISAF.
  • In July 2004, Portugal sent 24 soldiers and one C‑130 Hercules cargo plane to assist ISAF.
  • On 7 August 2004, General Jean-Louis Py, commander of Eurocorps, took command of ISAF. Eurocorps contributors deploying to Afghanistan included France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Canada reduced its forces to about 800 personnel.
  • In September 2004, a Spanish battalion of about 800 personnel arrived to provide the ISAF Quick Reaction Force, and an Italian Army battalion of up to 1,000 troops arrived to provide the in‑theater Operational Reserve Force. With a force of 100, Georgia became the first Commonwealth of Independent States country to send an operational force to Afghanistan.
  • Stage 1 was completed in October 2004, under the Regional Command of Germany.

    Stage 2: to the west – completed September 2005

  • In February 2005, General Ethem Erdagi of Turkey took command
  • On 10 February 2005, NATO announced that ISAF would be expanded into the west of Afghanistan. This process began on 31 May 2006, when ISAF took command of two additional Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the provinces of Herat and Farah, and of a Forward Support Base in Herat. At the beginning of September, two additional ISAF-led PRTs in the west became operational, one in Chaghcharan, capital of Ghor province, and one in Qala-e-Naw, capital of Baghdis province; this completed ISAF's expansion into the west. The extended ISAF mission led a total of nine PRTs in the north and the west, providing security assistance in 50 percent of Afghanistan's territory.
  • As the area of responsibility was increased, ISAF also took command of an increasing number of PRTs, to improve security and facilitate reconstruction outside the capital. The first nine PRTs were based at Baghlan, Chaghcharan, Farah, Fayzabad, Herat, Kunduz, Mazar-i-Sharif, Maymana, Qala‑e Naw.
  • In May 2005, ISAF Stage 2 took place, doubling the size of the territory for which ISAF was responsible. The new area was the former U.S. Regional Command West consisting of Badghis, Farah, Ghor, and Herat Provinces.
  • On 5 August 2005, Italian General Mauro del Vecchio assumed command of ISAF. During 2005, Italy commanded four multinational military operations: in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania.
  • In September 2005, ISAF Stage 2 was completed under the Regional Command of Italy. The Alliance also temporarily deployed 2,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to support the 18 September provincial and parliamentary elections.
  • On 27 January 2006, it was announced in the British Parliament that ISAF would replace U.S.; Operation Enduring Freedom troops in Helmand Province. The British 16th Air Assault Brigade became the core of the force in Helmand Province.
  • In February 2006, the Netherlands expanded its troop contribution with an extra 1,400 soldiers.
  • On 22 May 2006, a British Army WAH-64 Apache gunship fired a Hellfire missile to destroy a French armored vehicle that had been disabled during a firefight with Taliban forces in North Helmand province the previous day, as it had been determined that attempting to recover the vehicle would have been too dangerous. This was the first time U.K. Apaches had opened fire in a hostile theater and was, after a fashion, the WAH-64's first "combat kill."