Afghan Forces in the Lead - But Not Without Substantial Assistance from ISAF

While the exit strategy for the United States and its coalition partners is to get the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to take the lead in the fight makes sense on paper and during briefings - getting this to actually happen may be a hard task.

But the second-highest-ranking officer in Afghanistan said Wednesday that so far, almost no Afghan units are capable of operating without American or NATO assistance. When asked during a briefing at the Pentagon about how many Afghan Security units can operate independently, Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, replied "probably one percent ... to be honest with you ... It's a very low number."

Read more on the interview with Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti in "Afghan forces in lead, but not in control", CNN Security Clearance Blog, February 7, 2102.