US CentCom establishes center for Afghanistan, Pakistan analysts

WASHINGTON. August 25. KAZINFORM. After nearly nine years of US presence in Afghanistan, the head of the US Central Command has announced plans to open a new center to train military officers and analysts for assignments in Afghanistan and Pakistan; Kazinform refers to Arab News.

US Central Command's chief Gen. David Petraeus has tapped one of his most trusted analysts, Col. Derek Harvey (Ret.), to establish and head The Center for Afghanistan Pakistan Excellence.

The new center will focus on integrating all sources of information to develop strategic products for both war fighters and decision-makers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The decision comes as top military officials say the fight in Afghanistan is getting tougher and security is deteriorating.

The decision to set up such a specialized training center for military officials and covert operatives, comes at a time when the Obama Administration has announced that - to succeed against the Taliban - the US must be in the region for a long term, and to be successful, they need to have officials and officers with regional expertise on both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The training academy will submerse future analysts, officers and covert operators in Pashtu and Dari language and culture courses. Recruits also will be asked to sign a form that commits them to work on Afghanistan and Pakistan for at least five years; Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.