Afghan resignations threaten US-led security drive
The shock departure of two of Afghanistan's most respected security chiefs at a critical juncture in the US-led fight against the Taliban threatened to leave a void yesterday and raised questions about unity.
Interior minister Hanif Atmar and head of intelligence Amrullah Saleh are out of office, on the face of it, because militants fired rockets towards a key peace conference, embarrassing President Hamid Karzai mid-way through a speech.
The presidency said they were summoned to account for last week's attack -- which was thwarted and failed to hurt any of the 1,600 delegates at the "peace jirga" -- and had resigned over a "serious security breach".
Atmar had been in the job since 2008 and Saleh since 2004. They were among the most respected members of Karzai's government, both at home and in the Western capitals bankrolling an intensifying fight against the Taliban.
As interior minister, Atmar was responsible for building up the police force, which has struggled with poor equipment and recruitment. As director of the National Directorate of Security, Saleh was key to anti-Taliban operations.
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