SIGAR Report - DoS Demining Activities in Afghanistan

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has published a report - Department of State's Demining Activities in Afghanistan: Audit of Incurred Costs by Mine Clearance Planning Agency - (SIGAR Report 14-95 Financial Audit) published in September 2014. There were four internal control deficiencies and one instance of noncompliance in the audit of costs incurred by the Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA). The MCPA is an Afghanistan-based international humanitarian demining organization. The MCP received over $13 million in grands to provide support for the removal of land mines and unexploded ordnance in Afghanistan. The report finds that there was $688,206 in unsupported costs that should be scrutinized and possibly recovered.

Drugs in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan

The country of Afghanistan is known for its export of narcotics but what is less well-known is the staggering number of drug-addicted person within the country. The easy accessibility of drugs and corrupt judiciary and police sectors contribute to the drug addition problem. Read about the drug problem in Nangarhar province (border Pakistan in the east) in Drug Use Rampant in East Afghan Province, Institute for War & Peace Reporting, September 25, 2014.

EC-130H Compass Call in Afghanistan

Photo by SSG Evelyn Chavez 455th Expeditionary Wing

There are all sorts of aircraft flying overhead in Afghanistan. Some are small and some very large and they all have specific missions. What those missions are is sometimes a mystery. Most everyone knows that an A-10 provides Close Air Support, a C-17 will be your ticket home, a Black Hawk will get you to that remote FOB (well, it used to - the small FOBs have or will be going away). But what does a EC-130H Compass Call plane do? Fortunately the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing located on Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan provides us with a little information on the EC-130H and the 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron. The EC-130H Compass Call aircraft " . . . conducts electronic attack operations in order to deny, degrade or disrupt enemy communications". The aircraft can provide " . . . the ability to engage and receive real time target sets . . . " and helps to create a safe mission environment for the troops on the ground. Read the entire article in "41 EECS Scorpions execute theater electronic warfare", DVIDS, September 22, 2014.

Karzai's Parting Shot

"We don't have peace because the Americans didn't want peace".

"To the U.S. government, give them my anger, my extreme anger".

These quotes are just a few that Karzai has delivered to a nation that lost thousands of its young men and billions of dollars (much of that money now in Karzai's Dubai bank accounts). However, Karzai is not the first ungrateful foreign leader to take the money and run. Read "Karzai joins a long list of leaders ungrateful for U.S. support", The Washington Post, September 25, 2014.

Ralph Nader Likes Ashraf Ghani

Ralph Nader, a consumer advocate, lawyer, author, extreme liberal, (former presidential candidate?), and now, it seems, observer of international conflicts - has come out with a glowing description of the president-elect of Afghanistan - Ashraf Ghani. Well, if Nader likes Ghani then why shouldn't the rest of us? Read Nader's worship of Ghani in "Afghan Voters Choose a Better Future", The Huffington Post, September 24, 2014.

Afghan Security Deal to be Signed Soon

Now that the crook Karzai is on the way out (so long!) there seems to be great optimism that the newly-elected (sort of) President Ghani will sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (or BSA for short). Karzai refused to sign it even though an Afghan loya jirga endorsed the agreement last fall. The BSA will allow U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan next year (2015). The signing of the BSA will also allow the signing of the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) as well. Read more in "US: Afghan Security Deal May Be Signed Next Week", AP, September 24, 2014.

Daily News on Afghanistan

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MRAPs to Pakistan

Retrograde made easy! Instead of cutting up MRAPs for scrap (hundreds have been) or flying back to the United States (to sit in a scrapyard at some lonely Army post) it appears that some MRAPs (about 160) will find their way to Pakistan. The Foreign Military Sale (FMS) is valued at $198 million including the vehicles, spare parts, repair parts, and training. The specific MRAP model is the MaxxPro (several variants to include Dash, Base, ambulances, and recovery vehicles). The principle contractor will be Navistar Defense Corporation of Madison Heights, Michigan. Although it doesn't say it is assumed these are used vehicles coming from Afghanistan to be delivered to Pakistan. Read more in "Pakistan - Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles", Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), September 19, 2014.

Report - Labor Market Afghanistan (AREU Sep 14)

Two writers have published a report entitled "Gender, youth, and urban labour market participation: evidence from the tailoring sector in Kabul, Afghanistan", posted on the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), dated September 2014. This study is about understanding how labour markets actually work in insecure and dynamic contexts. In the research the study examines the Kabul tailoring labour market and sets out to help us understand what a 'good jobs agenda' might actually look like.

The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) is an independent research organization based in Kabul. AREU's mission is to inform and influence policy and practice by conducting high-quality, policy-relevant research and actively disseminating the results, and to promote a culture of research and learning. AREU engages policymakers, civil society, researchers and students to promote the use of AREU's research and its library. An abstract of the report is below:

"The creation of good jobs and decent work in conflict-affected places is widely seen to generate not just better-off households, but also safer societies and more legitimate states. However, so much of the good jobs agenda is dominated by technical approaches more concerned with balancing out supply and demand than with serious analysis of the role of institutions, identity and power in mediating access to opportunities".

Failure in Afghanistan - Ahmed Rashid

A noted author and correspondent with a great deal of expertise in Afghanistan has commented on the current situation in Afghanistan. The author, Ahmed Rashid, is not holding back, citing Afghanistan as having experienced a failed transformation over the past decade. He states that the "unity government" has no basis in Afghanistan's election law, is a make-shift compromise, and a defeat for the establishment of democracy in Afghanistan. The current planned withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops is a bad plan and premature. He recognizes the efforts of John Sopko (the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction - see www.sigar.mil) as one of the few U.S. government officials who will speak the truth. Rashid frets about the relapse of Afghanistan into civil war and the emergence of groups more extreme than the Taliban. In four important areas of transition: political, military, economic, and regional diplomacy - he sees failure. You can read his full article in "Afghanistan's Failed Transformation", The New York Times, September 25, 2014.

Army Awards Contract for Culvert Defense (IEDs)

One of the more successful tactics of the Taliban in Afghanistan is the emplacing of IEDs in culverts along the roads that ISAF and ANSF forces travel. For the ANSF IEDs comprised about 50% of the casualties in the counterinsurgency campaign. The U.S. Army is continuing its research into counter IED (C-IED) tactics and techniques. It recently picked several firms to compete in contracts to develop methods of defeating IED emplacement in culverts. The Army awarded the contracts on behalf of the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) of the Pentagon. The project is known as the Culvert Denial Challenge program. Read more in "Army chooses 20 companies to develop explosives-detection for IEDs hidden in culverts", Military & Aerospace Electronics, September 17, 2014.

Ten Priorities for Ghani

Tamim Asey, writing for The Diplomat, has provided ten recommended priorities for Afghanistan's new president (and his new Chief Executive Officer).

1. Sign the BSA and NATO SOFA.
2. Fix the security situation and narcotics trade problem.
3. Fix the economy, fight corruption, and get more foreign aid.
4. Unite a divided population (Pashtuns, Tajiks, Harazar, Uzbecks, etc.).
5. Review regional and global diplomacy.
6. Reform the judiciary and rule of law.
7. Call for a loya jirga to amend the constitution.
8. Reform the banking and financial sectors.
9. Comprehensively reform the civil service.
10. Write a new chapter with the Islamic and Arab worlds.

You can read the entire article "10 Priorities for Afghanistan's New President", The Diplomat, September 24, 2014.

State Issues Background Brief on Afghan Elections

The U.S. Department of State has published online a "Background Briefing on Afghanistan" dated September 24, 2014. The briefing (because it is "background") is attributable to a "Senior State Department Official". The briefing was presented to provide an update on what is going on in Afghanistan in regards to the election results and 'unity government agreement" and then it was opened to questions.

In the brief the State participants outlined the role that State played in the resolution of the Afghan election mess, highlights the challenges ahead (security, political, and economic transitions), emphasized that the two presidential candidates will work well together, the current Afghan fiscal crisis, the inauguration date is set, prospects of peace talks with the Taliban, and state that the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement and NATO SOFA is not far away.

Of course, the more interesting aspects of these "off the record" State Department briefings the correspondents ask. Such as "Why were the results of the vote not released?" and does the State Department think these elections " . . .were free and fair and transparent and open . . . ". The pros are good at skirting the truth. You can view the background briefing online here at the State Dept portal:
www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/09/232078.htm

Australia will Commit 600 Troops to RSM

It appears that a long-time ally of the United States in Afghanistan is willing to commit troops for an additional two years. Current plans include the stationing of about 600 Australian military members in Afghanistan for a two-year period during the Resolute Support Mission (RSM). The troops will remain in non-combat advisory roles. Read more in "Residual force for Afghanistan", The Australian, September 24, 2014.

Drone Attacks Continue

Despite the draw down of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan there is still some kinetic activity going on. "A suspected U.S. drone fired four missiles at a vehicle carrying Uzbek and local militants in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border on Wednesday, killing 10 of them, two Pakistani intelligence officials said". Read the rest of the story - "Officials: US Drone Kills 10 in Northwest Pakistan", AP Big Story, September 24, 2014.

Who is Ashraf Ghani?

Now that Ashraf Ghani has been announced as the victor in the June 14th (2014) run off election many are digging deeper into his background to determine who he really is and what his leadership style will be once he takes the presidency. Read about his background in "Profile: Ashraf Ghani", BBC News Asia, September 21, 2014.

SFAAT Teaches OCC-R How to Use COP

While the nation and world is focused on events in the Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere; in the country of Afghanistan members of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are still at work. Their principal mission in 2014 is Security Force Assistance or training, advising, and assisting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to become more proficient and able as the ISAF mission goes away at the end of 2014. Part of this mission is to ensure that the Operational Coordination Centers located at the regional level (usually co-located with the ANA Corps) are able to function on their own. This includes being able to track events on the battlefield. SFAAT 3 is currently advising the OCC-R South in Kandahar to plot significant acts that occur in their battlespace. While NATO and the U.S. military have sophisticated software applications that do this (C2PC, ADOCS, CPOF, etc.) the Afghans are many years behind. SFAAT 3 has put together a series of programs for the ANSF (similar to Google Maps) that has the ability to track all types of significant acts. Read more in "SFAAT 3 encourages teamwork by improving the ANSF common operating picture", DVIDS, September 19, 2014. (Photo by SSG Whitney Houston, RC South).

Afghan War Lessons Learned and How to Fight ISIS

The news programs, print media and Internet is just bursting with analysis and recommendations about how to "degrade, defeat, and destroy" the Islamic State (or ISIS, or ISIL, etc.). While many of these reports, tracts and observations are presented by well-meaning academics, scholars and members of 'think tanks" - very few have an experience mix of the big picture and 'boots on the ground". One observer that does is Michael G. Waltz. With his experience as a Special Forces officer with two tours in Afghanistan and as an advisor to VP Cheney on South Asia and Counterterrorism, Waltz has first-hand experience at the ground and policy level. He is the author of a forthcoming book entitled Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles from Washington to Afghanistan available on Amazon.com. Together with Alyssa Kelly, a national security analyst at Askari Associates, Waltz provides some lessons learned from Afghanistan and hopes that the current administration and his national security advisors (as well as senior military commanders) remember 10 impediments to success when dealing with ISIS (and with our allies).

1. National Caveats
2. Interagency Coordination
3. Lesser Capability
4. Different Doctrinal Approaches
5. Incompatibility
6. Intelligence Sharing
7. The "Maintaining the Coalition" Mentality
8. Command and Control
9. Unmet Expectations
10. The D-word: Detainees

The full article with an explanation of the ten impediments can be read in "Ten Lessons From the Afghan War About How to fight ISIS", The South Asia Channel, Foreign Policy, September 23, 2014.

Afghan Election Flaws Need to be Fixed

The Afghan presidential elections were certainly filled with cases of massive fraud. A former Afghan ambassador to France and Canada has weighed in on the problem. See "Former Afghan Ambassador says election flaws must be fixed", Voice of America, September 22, 2014.

Three Afghan Soldiers Experience Culture of Cape Cod

The three Afghan Soldiers participating in a training exercise on Camp Edwards, Cape Cod, Massachusetts who had some navigational problems and ended up on the Canadian border have been busy soaking up the culture of the United States. Although they will certainly require remedial training in land nav and map reading they are making up for it in their cultural experiences. The Afghans were visiting the Cape Cod Mall as part of a program to experience American culture. During their visit they went missing. Reportedly the three ANA Soldiers stopped for lunch and entertainment at a Cape Cod "gentlemen's club" called Zachary's Pub prior to heading to the Canadian border. Just speculation, but perhaps they had heard about Saint Catherine's Street in Montreal? Read more on this story in "Afghan soldiers who went missing in U.S. stopped at . . . ", New York Daily News, September 23, 2014.