"Afghanistan remains an ongoing threat to the war on terror. Although there has been progress, challenges still remain," Wolfowitz said

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, May 31 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Few hours after U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz admitted Saturday, May 31, that Afghanistan was still unsafe, unknown attackers fired rockets at two U.S. bases in southeast and eastern Afghanistan.

A base in Asadabad, Kunar province, 180 kilometers northeast of Kabul, came under attack Saturday morning, U.S. Colonel Rodney Davis told reporters at Bagram Air Base, 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Kabul.

"One rocket impacted outside of 500 meters (yards) of the fire base at Asadabad this morning," he said.

Attackers fired two rockets at a fire base at Urgon-e in southeast Paktika province on Friday, again without causing any casualties, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Davis was unable to say who fired the rockets but similar attacks have been blamed on Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.

Two rockets landed in a U.S. base in neighboring Paktia province on Wednesday but did not cause any casualties or damage.

Eighteen months after the ouster of Taliban, remnants and al-Qaeda fighters continue to launch regular attacks on foreign and government targets, especially in the south and southeast of the country in provinces bordering Pakistan.

Davis said there had been a cyclical increase in attacks on U.S. bases with the coming of the warmer spring and summer weather.

"I wouldn't want to speculate as to whether or not there has been an increase in attacks (overall)," he said.

"I could just say verifiably that we have seen more attacks in spring, in warmer months, than we had in winter."

Spring is the traditional fighting season in Afghanistan after the end of the bitter winter and the opening of mountain passes impassable in winter.

One German peacekeeping soldier was killed and another injured Thursday, May 29, when their vehicle drove over a mine in Kabul, as a group of unknown gunmen attacked a U.S. Special Operations Forces unit in the southwest Afghanistan.

Threat

"Afghanistan remains an ongoing threat to the war on terror. Although there has been progress, challenges still remain," Wolfowitz told the Asian Security Conference.

He highlighted those who filled the power vacuum following the U.S.-led military campaign that deposed Taliban in October, 2001, as one of the biggest causes for concern.

"The war ended with many local power brokers in control of provincial and local governments," Wolfowitz said.

"Few of them have risen to the challenge of serving their people rather than their own interests."

One of the most difficult tasks for Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been to assert control over the provincial rulers and he this week launched a campaign to force them to hand over customs revenue.

Karzai threatened to quit if provincial governors did not hand over their revenue to the cash-strapped central government.

Provincial governors are accused of withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in customs duty and other revenue from Kabul, undermining efforts to raise at least 200 million dollars for this year's 550 million-dollar national budget.

"We cannot overstate the importance of this objective not only for budget purposes but for the state as well," Deputy Finance Minister Abdul Salaam Rahimi said this week announcing the campaign.

"Ultimately, revenue collection, budget management, accountability for expenditure is a statement of whether we can function as a country or not, and on a more practical level, that we, as a government, can pay our bills, including salaries."

Despite the problems, Wolfowitz said Karzai's government, with the help of the international community, was making progress in establishing more solid rule.

He cited the development of the Afghan army, with its central core due to be up and running by June next year, as well U.S. and British provincial restructuring teams helping at least eight cities outside of Kabul secure law and order.

A U.S.-led force of more than 11,500 troops is currently hunting Taliban and al-Qaeda holdouts.

In addition, the International Security Assistance Force, which operates under a United Nations mandate and comprises 4,700 troops from 28 countries, has patrolled Kabul and its environs since its creation in December 2001.