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For eleven years did Norwegian soldiers efforts in Afghanistan. What goals should they meet and what was their mandate? Norwegian authorities have over the years argued for many, and sometimes divergent goals and objectives for the mission in Afghanistan. The only thing that has stayed the same is the commitment to 'a clear UN mandate.'. Adapted from the source document.

I'm standing outside a store in Meymaneh. It is May 2011. A few weeks before, the Norwegian UN employee Siri Skaare and several of her colleagues were brutally murdered when a mob attacked the UN camp in the neighboring city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Therefore, almost all foreigners left Maymaneh. There is a heavy atmosphere in the city. But we are considering the security situation to mean that it is safe to move around the town and are therefore out shopping. Along with some of my female colleagues, duly wrapped into large shawl covering all hair, we visited one carpet shop. But after 40 minutes of intense shopping, I take a break from all the bargaining and go out to look at life. A little boy standing outside. He is traditionally dressed, has a working scars shreds in your hands, around 12-14 years and smiles broadly at me. I smile back, and gets a little surprised when he says: 'How are you?' In good English. We are standing and chat. A piece out of the conversation he said: 'I feel so sorry for you, sir.' Hmm - I think. Seems this poor lad in one of the toughest countries sorry for me? 'Why?' I ask. 'Because you are going to hell.' What? - I'll go to hell? 'Why?' I ask again. 'Because you cannot control your women.' My surprise is great, and it gets bigger. During the conversation it emerges that this young boy seems genuinely sorry for me because my female colleagues, which he describes as my women, cannot be controlled because they are not wearing the traditional burqa. It is my responsibility to check them and make sure they are morally properly dressed, and since I cannot fix it, it's me Allah will judge the torments of hell, he argues. I cannot refrain from attempting to persuade the boy that there is an alternative thinking about women and their ability to make independent choices. But I fail - and we part as enemies. Adapted from the source document.

2014 marked important milestones for Afghanistan. It gained a new political leadership by a democratic election, the NATO International Stabilisation Force (ISAF) was withdrawn, and the country took the initiative to a wider and more trusting cooperation with its neighbor Pakistan (RFE/RL 2014). 2015 is a crucial year. We will get an indication of whether Afghanistan can stand on its own and if the (partial) military extraction was wise, and to what extent the new administration is viable. Adapted from the source document.

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which consists of military forces from more than 40 NATO and non-NATO countries, is now officially history. In combination with the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), the international intervention in Afghanistan has been one of the most lengthy operations in modern times. Such overwhelming effort requires reflection and evaluation. What have we learned from being part of this intervention? In this focus article I will go into one of the most important and demanding elements of this intervention - the civil-military space. The civil-military interaction played a significant role and received much attention, theoretical and practical. The question was about how various actors can contribute to a successful, holistic effort. I should say something about the term 'civil-military coordination' which focuses on the relationship between different actors, and then look into the Norwegian approach to civil-military relations. I would argue that the Norwegian approach was based on important principles, but could appear as immature and inflexible. I justify my claim by lifting some challenges and contradictions that have emerged, either because of - or despite - the introduction of the model. The newly appointed Afghan committee will give us considerable insight and several lessons and will be useful in future policies and practices. Already, however, two things for sure; firstly, that we will be asked to contribute in future military operations without being able to predict what these will contain (we have other words prepare us for many different contingencies). Secondly, under virtually all military operations be civilians present, with greater or lesser degree of contact between them. This civil-military dynamics often understood within the concept of civil-military cooperation (Rietje & Bollen 2008; Hoogensen Gjorv 2014 Hoogensen Gjorv & Gjorv 2014). Adapted from the source document.