Afghan Civilians Killed by Drone Attacks Rise

A United Nations report says that the number of civilians killed in drone attacks in the Afghan war rose in 2012. Read more in "More Afghan civilians killed by drones in 2012, U.N. says", CBS News, February 19, 2013.

Recommendations for Long Term Afghan Strategy

Michael O'Hanlon, a researcher and writer of foreign policy, has provided President Obama (and others) with four recommendations for long-term strategy in Afghanistan.

1. Force levels should remain at 65,000 through the 2013 fighting season.
2. Post December 2014 force levels should be closer to 20,000 rather than 10,000.
3. Improve Afghanistan's governance by concentrating less on the President and more on other Afghan political and government institutions.
4. Reinvigorate the reconciliation process with the Taliban - and including Pakistan in the process.

Read his recommendations in "The Strategy for Afghanistan", Brookings Institute, February 11, 2013.

SFAATs from 1AD Return from Deployment to Afghanistan

A number of Security Force Assistance Advisor Teams or SFAATs from 1st Armor Division have returned home to the United States after a nine-month long deployment to Afghanistan. Watch a video of their return to their families.

www.dvidshub.net/video/282257/sfaat-1st-ad-homecoming-ceremony

Factors to Consider for Peace in Afghanistan

A recent news article wrote by Edward Girardet for The Christian Science Monitor entitled "5 factors for peace in Afghanistan" provides us with some insight on how to conduct a successful reconciliation with the Taliban. The five factors include:

1. All Afghans must be represented
2. Peace talks must be Afghan-led and US-backed
3. Talks must be transparent
4. Talks should be overseen by a neutral, non-NATO country
5. The West cannot abandon Afghanistan

Torture Widespread in Afghan Prisons

An Afghan government panel investigating claims of a United Nations report detailing widespread torture in Afghanistan prisons has determined that there are rampant abuses occurring. Many of the abuses are perpetrated by the Afghan National Police (ANP). Read more in "Government Panel in Afghanistan Confirms Widespread Torture of Detainees", The New York Times, February 11, 2013.

Troop Levels in Afghanistan to Steadily Decrease

Reportedly there is now a "schedule" for the phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan over the next 20 months. According to one recent news report ("Decision on Afghan Troop Levels Calculates Political and Military Interests"), The New York Times, February 13, 2013) only 34,000 troops will be in Afghanistan at the beginning of 2014.

As of February 2013 there are 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Many of these troops will remain in-country through the 2013 fighting season (April-October). In November (the start of the so-called "non-fighting season") we would start to see a big movement of troops out of country to get to the desired February 2014 level. The timeline below may be the troop levels over the couple of years.

Projected Troop Level Timeline

66,000 - February 2013
60,500 - May 2013
52,000 - November 2013
32,000 - February 2014
 9,000 - December 2014

Afghan Democratic Policing Project (ADPP)

The Afghan Democratic Policing Project (ADPP) is being implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) with US $4.5 million funding provided by the Government of Netherlands. The 3-year project will support Afghanistan's Police-e-Mardumi (also known as community police) and the UNDP's Women Police Mentoring Programme.

Afghan Middle Class in Kabul Worries about Future

The influx of billions of dollars into Afghanistan by donor nations has created wealth for a small segment of Afghan society. The capital of Afghanistan - Kabul - has grown to 5 million people, many who moved to Kabul to try and get a piece of the economic pie. Some Kabul residents have done well but that comfortable life may very well fall apart in the next few years. Read more in "Fears of the Future Haunt a Budding Generation of Afghan Strivers", The New York Times, February 11, 2013.

2014 Afghan Elections

The Afghan presidential elections are just over one year away - to take place on April 5, 2014. The good news is that Karzai goes away. The bad news is Karzai is doing some strong maneuvering to get one of his loyal cronies elected so he can continue to benefit from the corruption that is running rampart in Afghanistan. Presidential elections were held in 2009 and were considered by many to be full of fraud. Many feel that Karzai would not have won the election without stuffing ballot boxes. Read more about the Afghan elections in "Official Stresses Importance of 2014 Afghan Elections", American Forces Press Service, February 11, 2013.

Kam Air to be Investigated by Afghan Attorney General - One Corrupt Agency Looking at Another

The U.S. has backed off its threat to deny Kam Air, an Afghan airlines, lucrative transport contracts because of allegations of shipping opium out of Afghanistan. Once again, the U.S. caved in to corrupt Afghan government leaders (that would be President Karzai and his cronies). Instead, the U.S. has said that they will let the Afghan attorney general investigate the allegations of widespread opium smuggling. Sure, . . . except that . . . the Afghan attorney general's office is less than useless and is very much involved in covering up and hiding cases of high-level Afghan corruption. Read more in this in "So, this is the office that will investigate Afghanistan's Kam Air?", The Christian Science Monitor, February 6, 2013.

Afghan Artillery Becoming More Important

U.S. Army photo by SFC Pinnington

With the stepping back of U.S. forces from combat operations in Afghanistan the Afghan security forces are conducting more and more combat operations on its own. U.S. forces used to "partner" with the Afghan National Army (ANA) in the past - conducting joint operations and relying primarily on U.S. UAV, ISR, MEDEVAC, CAS, and fires support. Now that the Afghans are in the lead much of this support is fading away - fast. With the withdrawal of U.S. air assets and artillery units from Afghanistan the ANA will find itself relying more and more on it's own artillery assets - primarily the ANA 122-mm D-30 howitzer found at brigade level in its Combat Support kandak.

There is much concern about the reliance of the ANA on its own artillery units. Many of the ANA brigades still have not been fielded their D-30s (even though we have been building up the ANA since 2002). Those units that do have the D-30s are in the very beginning of their training program and still rely heavily on ISAF advisor assistance for fires deconfliction and targeting processes.

A recent new article on Danger Room of Wired.com by Spencer Ackerman captures the concerns of the newly minted Afghan artillery units in "Coming This Year to Afghanistan: Way More Artillery Strikes", January 23, 2013.

ISAF Spokeman Talks about Drawdown of Forces

Brig. Gen. Gunter Katz, an ISAF spokesman, provides an interview (15 Feb 2013) about the draw down process of ISAF forces, concerns about the draw down, problems associated with moving equipment out of Afghanistan, and how ISAF will support the ANSF during the upcoming fighting season. BG Katz says "it will be a seamless transition". He states that the redeployment process is already in progress and that it is gradual in nature. He states that the insurgents are now relegated to more remote areas of Afghanistan and no longer threaten the Afghan cities. However he also admits there is much work to be done especially in Afghan IED efforts and the establishment of the Afghan Air Force.

View the video here:
www.dvidshub.net/video/281954/brig-gen-gnter-katz

Gen Dempsey and His Thoughts on the Afghan Mission

General Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently provided his views on how Afghanistan will look in 2014. He stated that the mission will dictate how many troops are in Afghanistan over the next few years.

Well, . . . okay. I sorta think that the number of troops that Obama determines will be in Afghanistan will dictate the mission. In other words he says "You can have no more than 10,000 troops in country by December 2014 and I want to see a steady decline getting to that number over the next 20 months". So I would bet that the ISAF planners have developed plans for 6,000, 8,000, and 10,000 U.S. forces in country - and once they get the word from Obama they launch into fine-tuning that respective plan. They are going to form the mission around the number of troops. That's just how it works.

Currently there are 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan (as of Jan 2013) with several more thousand from other Troop Contributing Nations (TCN). The missions of these troops over the next year or more are to keep the pressure on al-Qaida, train up the Afghan Army and police, and withdraw ISAF forces. The withdrawal of ISAF forces includes that equipment that will be returning to the respective ISAF countries - an immense amount considering it has been building up for the last decade.

Other than the special ops guys going after select targets and SOJTF-A working its ANASF, commando, and VSO programs there will be a significant decrease in U.S. military forces conducting combat operations. The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are slowly taking the lead in more and more areas of the country. In fact, many of the U.S. brigade combat teams (BCTs), called Security Force Assistance Brigades or SFABs, now deploying into country don't have the operational forces available to do more than provide Quick Reaction Forces (QRF), logistics, force protection, and combat enablers (fires, CAS, MEDEVAC, intel support, etc.) to their SFAATs.

1-89th Cavalry Regiment Now in Afghanistan

1-89th Cav, part of 2nd Brigade 10th Mountain Division, is now deployed to FOB Sharana, Paktika province, Afghanistan. The unit will be supporting Security Force Assistance Advisory Teams (SFAATs) that are providing advice, assistance, and enablers to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). The 1-89th Cav has two deployments to Iraq as well.

Afghan Govt called "cesspool of corruption"

The Afghan government has managed to squander billions of foreign aid through corruption that was meant to build up security forces, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure.  Read more in "Afghan corruption imperils future success", USA Today, February 10, 2013.

General Officer Assignments for Afghanistan

The DoD has announced several general officer assignments. A couple of them affect billets in Afghanistan.

MG Richard Longo, currently the director of Task Force 2010 and Commander of the Combined Joint Inter-Agency Task Force - Afghanistan, will be heading to U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army. MG Longo's bio can be read here on the ISAF website. Task Force 2010 and CJIATF-A have attempted to curb the rampart corruption that takes place in almost all aspects of Afghan life; to include the persistent covering up of corruption within the government by President Karzai. A thankless endeavor to be sure as little progress has been made on that front.

COL James Kraft has been selected for BG and will be assigned as Deputy Commander of Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan (SOJTF-A). The SOJTF-A was formed up in 2012 and is headed by a two-star general officer. You can read more about SOJTF-A in a news article published August 19, 2012 in USA Today entitled "U.S., Afghan elite forces merge".  SOJTF-A oversees many different types of special operations to include the Village Stability Operations (VSO), Afghan Local Police (ALP), training of Afghan Commandos and Afghan Special Forces, conduct of kinetic operations, and advising many of the Afghan National Police Provincial Response Companys (PRC) and special police units.

You can view the press release here.
www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=15813

SFAAT Team Leaders and Company Commanders in the SFA Mission

A recent magazine article in Army Magazine published in the February 2013 issue entitled "SFAA: Creating New Challenges & Opportunities for Army Units" has captured the ongoing dilemma of fielding SFAAT teams to Afghanistan from standing Brigade Combat Teams or BCTs. The Security Force Assistance Advisor Teams or SFAATs are taken out of a brigade using commanders and staff. For instance, a team leader of an SFAAT advising an ANA kandak (battalion) is supposed to be a major (0-4). Frequently, the 0-4 position is filled with a captain. This captain is usually a company commander. The captain most times hand-picks the remaining 11 members of his SFAAT from within his company. If his team deploys to Afghanistan and his company stays home (Fort Hood, Fort Campbell, or wherever) he is most likely turning his company command and platoon leadership to junior officers and NCOs. If the SFAAT deploys to Afghanistan with the brigade (the bde deploys as an SFAB) then his company is likely to deploy to another location (COP or FOB) than where his SFAAT goes.  Just think of the C2 and support problems either scenario poses (brigade deploys or stays in U.S.). You can read more about the challenges facing company commanders who are assigned as SFAAT team leaders in the magazine article at the link below.

www.ausa.org/publications/armymagazine/...

Will China Be the "Ultimate Winner" of Afghan War?

China's policy towards Afghanistan is calculated and shrewd. It has taken a "hands-off" stand in regards to the internal politics and the conflict in Afghanistan. At the same time it has fostered strong diplomatic relationships with the government of Afghanistan. In addition, it has positioned itself to benefit economically with investments in mineral and oil exploitation within Afghanistan. Read more on this topic in "China Could Prove Ultimate Winner in Afghanistan", National Public Radio, January 16, 2013. Learn more about China's role in Afghanistan.

Gen Dunford Now ISAF Commander

General Joseph Dunford took command of ISAF from General John Allen on February 10, 2013. He will likely be the last ISAF commander (COMISAF). He will oversee the draw down from 100,000 ISAF members to less than 10,000 over the year or more. Read more in "With New Control, General to Focus on Withdrawal in Afghanistan", The New York Times, February 10, 2013.

Bribes Out of Control in Afghanistan

According to a United Nations report corruption and bribery in Afghanistan is out of control. Over half of Afghans had to pay a bribe to obtain a public service. The bribes paid in 2012 is almost double the Afghan domestic revenue. Read a news article on this topic in "Corruption Costing Afghanistan Almost $4 Billion: UN Report", International Business Times, February 8, 2013.

South Carolina Agricultural Team Redeploying from Afghanistan

An Army National Guard agriculture team from South Carolina will soon be returning from it's tour in Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan the team has built teaching centers and aided more than 300 farmers in its Afghan agricultural development mission through the help provided to Afghan farmers to improve their crops and livestock methods. Read more in "SC Guard unit wrapping up Afghan agriculture help", ABC News 4, February 9, 2013.

Solar Food Dryers Help Villagers Store Food for Long Term Use

The introduction of solar food dryers to Afghan women in Kapisa province has ensured the villages can store food over the long term. Afghan men in the area learned how to build the solar food dryers (assisted by an Agricultural Development Team - ADT). Solar power (Afghanistan has plenty of sun) is an energy source that is relatively inexpensive to tap into when the right low-tech tools are used. View a video entitled In Afghanistan Solar Dryers Make Big Impact by DVIDS dated 8 Feb 13.

www.dvidshub.net/video/281196/afghanistan-solar-dryers-make-big-impact

China's Long-Term Strategy for Afghanistan

China is a country that has always taken a long view of the world and its destiny. Its relationship with Afghanistan is no exception. China has time on its side and they are using it. They have avoided becoming involved in the internal politics of Afghanistan. They have not to any large degree supported the Western powers in their military occupation of Afghanistan (through military assistance, troops in the ground, and participating in the Northern Distribution Network NDN). China has been engaged with Afghanistan in other areas - especially in the economic sector. China sees a stable Afghanistan as a source for raw materials (Afghanistan has a large amount of raw minerals) and as a market for China's export of finished goods. Many observers note that the Western powers are doing the heavy lifting in the fight against the Taliban and one of the countries that will benefit the most from a successful conclusion of the conflict will be China. You can read more about the China-Afghanistan relationship in a paper wrote by Serafettin Yilmaz - a doctoral candidate in Asia-Pacific Studies (IDAS) at National Chengchi University (NCCU) in Taiwan.

"Afghanistan: China's New Frontier?", December 19, 2012.
www.e-ir.info/2012/12/19/afghanistan-chinas-new-frontier/

Gen Allen Prepares to Depart Afghanistan

General Allen, COMISAF
photo by SGT K. Summerhill

After serving almost 19 months as COMISAF, General Allen is leaving Afghanistan. He has accomplished a lot during this tenure and put out a lot of fires while ensuring that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are in the lead in the fight against the Taliban. 

Many of his achievements include cutting the size of the ISAF (and U.S.) force, transitioning from ISAF fighting on the battlefield to the Afghans in the lead for combat operations, instituting the Security Force Assistance (SFA) concept with the fielding of Security Force Assistance Advisory Teams or SFAATs.

Along the way he had to constantly develop and repair relationships with the Afghans every time something bad happened that would set back our mission (burning of Korans, Marines urinating on Taliban corpses, a Soldier killing 16 civilians in the Panjwai massacre, etc.). Other challenges he faced was keeping the coalition focused and committed to the effort - a difficult task in the face of events like the Insider Threat problem.

His biggest failure, perhaps, may be the lack of resolve when dealing with Karzai on the issue of Afghan corruption and the failure of ISAF to help establish a more legitimate government that is respected by the Afghan population. But perhaps we are playing a waiting game until the Afghan election to see if they step up and elect a less corrupt and more competent president.

General Allen deserves our thanks for his service and fine job. Read more about his tenure as ISAF commander in a recent news article entitled "For U.S. Leader in Afghan War, Much Time Making Peace", The New York Times, February 6, 2013.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/world/asia/general-allen-departing-afghan-war-commander-saw-as-much-diplomacy-as-combat.html

SFAAT Provides Assistance to OCC-R for OCC Foundation Course in Laghman Province (RC East)

Graduates of the OCC Foundation Course
hold the completion certificates.
(Photo Spc. Philip Steiner)

The Security Force Assistance Advisory Team or SFAAT advising the Operation Command Center - Region or OCC-R in Laghman province has successfully assisted the OCC-R in the conduct of a Operation Command Center Foundation Course.  This 21-day course is designed to teach Afghan ANP and ANA students topics such as map reading, computer work, and intelligence fusion. The OCC-R SFAAT is based on FOB Gamberi and works along side the OCC-R Afghan staff on a daily basis.  The foundation course will go a long way to ensure that the Afghan members of the OCC-R (and OCC-Ps) will be able to function independently of U.S. military advisers (SFAATs) at some point in the near future.

You can read more about the OCC-R and the OCCP Foundation Course in "Afghans leading the way in Laghman province", DVIDS, February 6, 2013 at the link below.

http://www.dvidshub.net/news/101541/afghans-leading-way-laghman-province

Kam Air - U.S. Caves to Karzai . . . Again

One of Afghanistan's airlines, Kam Air, was recently blacklisted for smuggling opium within and outside of Afghanistan by the U.S. military. This meant that Kam Air could not bid on the very lucrative contracts for transporting personnel and equipment that are offered by the U.S. military. Naturally Karzai (the corrupt King of Kabul) objected and the U.S. caved. Read more in a recent news article that investigates this case.

"Afghan corruption, opium, and the strange case of Kam Air", The Christian Science Monitor, February 5, 2013.

Kabul, Cars, Police, Inefficiency, . . . . and, of course, Corruption

A recent story in The New York Times provides insight into the corrupt police of Kabul, Afghanistan and the inefficiencies found in a society and government that just recently has emerged from the 13th century. Kabul is a city designed for less than one million residents and 30,000 automobiles but dealing with 5 million residents and almost 650,000 vehicles. So traffic at best is problematic. Pile on top of that an inept and corrupt city police and you face a host of problems if you are driving a vehicle in Kabul. Read more in "In Kabul's 'Car Guantanamo', Autos Languish and Trust Dies" published on February 17, 2013.

A to Z Guide to Afghanistan Assistance (AREU)

The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) has released the 11th Edition (2013) of the A to Z Guide to Afghanistan Assistance. Contained within the publication is a glossary of assistance terms, extensive listing of assistance organizations, an overview of the Afghanistan system of government, and information about the provinces and districts of Afghanistan. If you are in the business of security, governance, development, counterinsurgency, or Security Force Assistance (SFA) this book will be invaluable to you.

 You can order hard copies of the 2013 edition or download the 2012 edition off the AREU website. The hardcopies cost about $20 USD or Afs 1000 with limited editions available. The electronic copy (2012) can be downloaded for free.

 

www.areu.org.af

 

Return to Blogging on Afghanistan

My tour in Afghanistan is now complete and I have returned to the states. While posted in Afghanistan I was not able to blog; however, now that I am back. . . .

I will slowly get back into blogging about the conflict in Afghanistan - hopefully bringing new insights, views, and knowledge about the struggle to build up the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), the need to continue the efforts to strengthen governance, rule of law, the police, development, and the never-ending but failing endeavor to diminish the disastrous effects of Afghan governmental corruption found at all levels.

Temporary Break in Blogging - Off to Afghanistan

I will be taking a temporary break in blogging as I am off to Afghanistan for another tour. A condition of my employment is "no blogging" while in-country. I will resume blogging in the fall. Check these sites out to read Afghan war news and blogs about Afghanistan.

Book - "Funding the Enemy" by Douglas Wissing

A new book on Afghanistan is now available entitled Funding the Enemy: How the U.S. Taxpayers Bankroll the Taliban. The author, Douglas A. Wissing, contends that the Taliban has many sources of money to finance its operations. Some of the money comes from contributors overseas - especially the Gulf nations. Another significant source of money is from the opium trade of Afghanistan. Still another source of revenue is from extortion and corruption. Many Afghan corporations are extorted by the Taliban and pay protection money. Cell phone companies, trucking firms delivering supplies to NATO bases, building contractors, and others are paying out money to the Taliban so their personnel and projects do not get attacked or disrupted. Corruption plays a major role in Afghan society and government -  and the Taliban benefits from this as well. Corrupt Afghan government officials divert international aid money intended for government services, security forces, and development projects; and this money sometimes finds its way into Taliban coffers. You can buy the book by clicking on the link below:

Funding the Enemy: How U.S. Taxpayers Bankroll the Taliban

Afghan Daily War News - April 6, 2012

ALP Member graduates from
3-week training course.
  (Photo PO 2CL Jon Rasmussen
CJSOTF-A Media Opns Center)

8 Afghan Local Police Killed. Gunmen killed 8-10 members of the Afghan Local Police (ALP) recently in in Farah Province in western Afghanistan. See "Attack on Afghan government outpost kills 10", CBS, April 5, 2012.

Development in Nimroz Province. Things are quiet in Nimroz province and progress is being made thanks to a handful of U.S. Marines working with their Afghan partners. See "Development in forgotten 'Marine-istan' province", Battle Rattle Military Times, April 5, 2012.

Task Force Breshna Barq. This TF's mission is to bring electric power to areas of Afghanistan. Learn more in "USACE teams with Afghan power utility to solve outages in southern Afghanistan", DVIDS, April 4, 2012.

Reintegration and Reconciliation - Not Going so Good. The results of the dual track of reintegrating low and mid-level Taliban fighters and negotiating with insurgent leaders has been disappointing at best. Read "There's no 'I' in Afghan endgame", by Candace Rondeaux, The AFPAK Channel, Foreign Policy, April 5, 2012.

India Plays a Role in Stabilizing Afghanistan. Much to Pakistan's dismay, India is becoming more involved in the affairs of Afghanistan. Learn more in "India Billions Secure Afghan Mines in Challenge to China Drive", Bloomberg.com, April 4, 2012.

Night Raids. The U.S. has a lot to lose if it gives away too much during its negotiations with Afghan officials on the topic of night raids. See "U.S. and Its Allies Still Wrangling Over Afghan Policies". BusinessWeek, April 5, 2012.

Governance. Stephen Biddle, a frequent commentator on Afghan topics, writes that governance reform is crucial to the future stability of Afghanistan. See "Salvaging Governance Reform in Afghanistan", ReliefWeb, April 2, 2012.

Afghan Dancing Boys. See a report on culture and entertainment in Afghanistan in "Afghanistan's dancing boys", By Ernesto Londono, The Washington Post, April 5, 2012.

Afghan Businessmen Plan Their Escape

With the year 2014 slowly getting closer those Afghans who can afford to leave are planning their departure - just in case. Many are hedging their bets in fear that the Taliban will end up in a power-sharing role in government or that the country could sink into a civil war. Read more in "In Afghanistan, Businesses Plan Their Own Exits", The New York Times, March 30, 2012.

APPF To Drive up Security Costs of USAID Projects

The costs of security for USAID projects by using the APPF is sure to go up according to observers who are trying to tabulate costs.  See "Consensus On Afghanistan: Transitioning to the Afghan Public Protection Force Will Cost More", Afghanistan Study Group, April 4, 2012.

Bacha Bazi - Afghan Dancing Boys

Young boys are being groomed as entertainers, companions for older males, and sexual partners in Afghanistan. This is a practice common of wealthy and prominent Afghans. Read more, see some photos and watch a video in "Afghanistan sees rise in 'dancing boys' exploitation", The Washington Post, April 4, 2012.

ALP and VSO Prove Successful in Afghanistan

ALP conducting weapons training.
(Photo SSG Wright CJSOTF-A)

A commentator who has been following the progress of the Afghan Local Police (ALP) and Village Stability Operations (VSO) programs in Afghanistan has provided an update. See "Report: Afghan local counterinsurgency programs prove successful", by CJ Radin of Threat Matrix Blog of The Long War Journal, April 4, 2012.

Explanation for Pakistani Taliban and Afghan Taliban

Along the Afghan Pakistan border can be found two types of Taliban. One is referred to as "Afghan Taliban" and the other as "Pakistani Taliban". The Afghan Taliban are supported by the Pakistani intelligence services and aided by some segments of the Pakistan military while the Pakistani Taliban are being fought by the Pakistani government. This is, of course, a simplistic explanation of a complex topic. Learn more of the two types of Taliban in the video below - an interview of the famous Pakistani book author Ahmed Rashid on the Jon Stewart show.

Click on link to watch the video of the interview:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-march-28-2012/ahmed-rashid

Afghan War News Daily Update - April 5, 2012

Afghan National Army Special
Forces (ANSF) preparing
to conduct weapons training. 
(Photo by PO1 David Frech).

Here are some items of interest about the Afghan war that have appeared in the press and on-line over the past few days.

Afghan Leaders Ready to Kick U.S. Out? Afghan leaders and elite ponder their relationship with the United States. Karen Leigh explores the views that elite members of Afghan society and government have towards the U.S. and whether they feel Afghanistan should step away from their best ally. Karen also points out the role that corruption plays in all of this. See "Afghanistan Falls Apart", Foreign Policy, April 3, 2012.

Stay the Course. One observer believes that the Taliban operating in southern Afghanistan have been beaten but in the east the Haqqani Network remains a formidable threat. Frederick Kagan says we need to stay in Afghanistan to defeat the Haqqani Network, ensure the Taliban do not re-emerge in southern Afghanistan, and prevent al Qaeda from setting up camp in Afghanistan once again. See "Al Qaeda Allies Remain Strong", The New York Times, April 3, 2012.

APPF. A legal firm explores the pitfalls of relying on the APPF for security in Afghanistan.  See "Afghanistan's Ban on Private Security Companies: What are the Risks for Private Investors?", JD Supra, April 3, 2012. SIGAR reports that the APPF is not ready to take over providing security for USAID projects in "Giving Karzai Aid and a 20 Percent Profit", PJ Media, March 30, 2012.

Elections to be Delayed? Some Afghans think that Karzai and his cronies have something up their sleeve to keep the "King of Kabul" in power longer than 2014. Read more in "Leading Afghans cast doubt on election schedule", The Guardian, April 3, 2012.

Resupply of remote outposts by parachute. Supporting remote outposts in Afghanistan with supplies and logistics is expensive. Many are not near airfields and the roads are plagued with IEDs or just not suitable for large vehicles. One quick and low-cost way to resupply the troops is using inexpensive parachutes. Read more in "Cheap, Low, Slow and Accurate", Strategy Page, April 3, 2012.

Hold Karzai Accountable. Support for the Afghan war has diminished in the U.S. Support for U.S. involvement has also diminished in Afghanistan. However, some in Afghan society believe Hamid Karzai is the problem and that the U.S. should hold him more accountable. Read more in "What Afghans Think About Declining U.S. Support", by Michael Rubin in Commentary Magazine, April 3, 2012.

After the German Withdrawal. So what happens in northern Afghanistan after the German withdrawal? Who fills the vacuum? Learn more in "German Military Fears for Afghanistan's Future", Spiegel Online, April 3, 2012.

Funding the Enemy. See "We're Funding Both Sides of the War", Mother Jones (beware!), April 2, 2012.

RC East to Go on Offensive

A recent news report provides information on the upcoming offensive that will soon take place in Regional Command East in Afghanistan. Read about it in "Details emerge on coming U.S. offensive in eastern Afghanistan", Government Executive, April 4, 2012.

Decree 62 and the APPF- Rough Start

Presidential Decree 62 eliminating private security companies from Afghanistan and replacing them with the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF) is not being met. Read more in "Afghanistan's Endless Private-Security War", Harper's Magazine, April 3, 2012.

"Mine Kafon" - Clearing Minefields in Afghanistan

Future technologies hold promise in the fight against mines in Afghanistan. Read about a new machine that can clear mines cheaply if further developed - "Wind-powered landmine detector developed", Environmental Expert, April 3, 2012.

Afghan War News Daily Update - April 4, 2012

An ANASF instructor teaches tactics
to a member of the Afghan Local
Police (ALP). (Photo MC1 Leistkow,
CJSOTF-A Media Opns Center)

Here are some news reports and commentary about Afghanistan over the past few days.

Talking with the Taliban. Some see no alternative to an Afghanistan that survives 2014 than to negotiate with the Taliban. See "Talks with the Taliban: There is no other way", by Syed Moazzam Hashmi, The AFPAK Channel, April 4, 2012.

Kabul Bank Scandal. Threats of diminished aid to Afghanistan prompts Karzai to finally investigate the corruption associated with the Kabul Bank. Unfortunately nothing will come of this. See "Kabul Bank scandal: Hamid Karzai sets up special tribunal", The Guardian, April 4, 2012.

Are U.S. Goals in Afghanistan Attainable? The Atlantic asks several commentators if the U.S. can achieve its goals in Afghanistan.  See "Will the U.S. Win in Afghanistan?", The Atlantic, April 4, 2012.

Nights Raids. How much did we give up?  See "U.S. Afghanistan may be close to night raids deal", CNN, April 4, 2012.

Iran Agitating in Afghanistan. See "Iran's Efforts to Stir Afghan Violence Worry U.S.", The New York Times, April 4, 2012.

Construction Continues for Afghanistan's Security Forces. Despite the withdrawal from Afghanistan construction still continues for the Afghan National Security Forces. Read more in "Contracting officials award $137 million for Afghanistan Engineer District - North", DVIDS, April 4, 2012.

Video on Australian SAS

A great video about Australias Special Air Service (SAS).  Click on the link below to watch the video:
http://youtu.be/O8bsURb-lOc

U.S. Committment After 2014

In a very short but concise piece Andrew Exum, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, writes about what our endgame in Afghanistan should be as we transition towards 2014 and beyond. He states that the presence of international forces will be a stabilizing influence in Afghanistan that will help avert a possible civil war, provide the ability to base and stage forces that can hit al Qaeda targets, and continue our training and assistance mission with the Afghan National Security Forces. Read his article in "Some Troops Will Stay Past 2104", The New York Times, April 3, 2012.

More Time Needed for Afghanistan

Kori Schake, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, has called for more patience with Afghanistan. She points out that we are making progress (although slow) and that it is crucial that we remain committed to Afghanistan at least up until the 2014 elections are held. Read more in "Afghan Leaders and Troops Need More Time", The New York Times, April 2012.

Parwan Detention Facility Now under Afghan Control

The Parwan detention center (at Bagram Airfield) is now under Afghan control. Read more in "US officially hands over military prison to Afghans", The Hill Blog, March 2, 2012.

Afghanistan: Reconciliation and Reintegratioin OR Disorder and Disintegration

To some observers the future of Afghanistan appears dark and ominous. The Afghan government and its coalition allies are pushing for reconciliation with the insurgent leaders and reintegration of the insurgent rank and file as a means to allow the exit of ISAF troops and the consolidation of the authority and power for the Kabul government over the entire country. However, many insurgents and their leaders are not biting the apple of reconciliation and reintegration; which poses problems after 2014 when the bulk of the security forces who are doing the fighting will have gone home. Read more in "Reconciliation and Reintegration", Daily Outlook Afghanistan, April 3, 2012.

Persistent Threat Detection Systems (PTDSs) in Afghanistan

"Tethered aerostats with Persistent Threat Detection Systems (PTDSs) that fly over separate forward operating bases in Afghanistan received capability upgrades recently with the addition of new Kestrels. Unlike the former versions, the revamped technology includes electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) features, enabling users to have a 360-degree view of targets in a city-size area after sundown and during the day. The addition of nighttime data gathering is growing in importance for coalition forces in Operation Enduring Freedom as insurgents adapt their techniques to attack after dark when detection is more difficult."

Read the rest of the article "Day/Night ISR Floats Over Afghanistan", SIGNAL Online, April 3, 2012.

U.S. and Afghans Close to Agreement on Night Raids

It appears that the U.S. and Afghanistan are close to an agreement on night raids. Karzai (and others) have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with the frequency of night raids, the fact that Afghans are not conducting them unilaterally, and the lack of a warrant-based system. The U.S. maintains that the night raids are key to keeping the insurgents on the defensive. Read more in "U.S., Afghans Negotiate on Night Raids", American Forces Press Service, April 3, 2012.

Strategic Partnership Talks Continue With Afghanistan

The ongoing talks between the United States and Afghanistan on the Strategic Partnership deal continue. Issues such as the transfer of the Parwan prison, night raids by ISAF special operations forces, and the status of U.S. forces and bases in Afghanistan after 2014 continue to dominate the negotiations. Learn more in "Afghanistan presses for answers on long-term U.S. military bases", Reuters, March 31, 2012.