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

You can receive the Afghan War News Daily Newsletter each day. It should arrive in your e-mail inbox at 5:00 am Eastern Standard Time. It is easy to subscribe. Send an e-mail to staff@afghanwarnews.info or go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and submit your subscription request in the "Follow by Email" dialogue box in the top of the right hand column. It is easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

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.

Karzai Warns about U.S. Intentions

In a recent speech the President of Afghanistan (outgoing thank goodness) Karzai warned the incoming Afghan government leaders to beware of the United States. Karzai stated that the Afghan peace process failed because America did not want peace. Read more in "Afghan President Karzai warns successors to beware of US", BBC News Asia, September 23, 2014. See also "Afghan President Hamid Karzai slams U.S. government policy in Afghanistan", The Washington Post, September 23, 2014.

Amb Crocker Responds to Karzai Statements

Former Ambassador Crocker (to Afghanistan) reacted to President Karzai's outlandish statements about why the United States invaded Afghanistan. Crocker says that Karzai knows the invasion was in the best interests of Afghanistan. Read more in "Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan Reacts to Karzai's Criticisms", Voice of America, September 23, 2014.

Ghani Says He Won't Tolerate Corruption

The president-elect of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, has said he will not tolerate corruption. During an interview with the BBC Mr. Ghani set out his vision for Afghanistan and stated that he was not corrupt. The video is about 8 minutes long. Ghani, a very good English speaker, says Afghanistan has great opportunities ahead. He mentions Afghanistan's supply of water, minerals, and business acumen. He acknowledges the immense corruption in the Afghan government. Watch the video at the following link - www.bbc.com/news/world-29312884.

Gender Integration into ANSF

One of the areas where ISAF has been working with the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) is in gender integration - growing the number of women working with in the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, military formations and police forces. A recent news release from ISAF explains some of the advances that have been made and the work that lies ahead. See "Afghan, ISAF leaders discuss gender integration into ANSF", ISAF News, September 21, 2014.

Paper - Are Contractors a Threat to the Military?

A recent paper published in Parameters contemplates the role of contractors in a war zone and the adverse effects the use of contractors has on the military. In what seems to be a paper aimed at discrediting the role of contractors (security and otherwise) the author advances the argument that the military can do the job just as well as contractors and at no greater cost if properly resourced (don't draw down the force too much). In addition he questions the legality of the use of contractors by pointing to isolated events like Nisoor Square (Iraq) - (there is no mention of the massacre in Panjwai district, Afghanistan by a U.S. Soldier). He also states that the professionalism of the military is at stake (at least I think that is what he is getting at) because the contractors are competing with the military. Hmmmm. You can read his paper "Military Professionalism & Private Military Contractors", Parameters, 44 (2) Summer 2014, by Scott L. Efflandt, pages 49-60.

Get Afghan News Daily

You can receive the Afghan War News Daily Newsletter each day. It should arrive in your e-mail inbox at 5:00 am Eastern Standard Time. It is easy to subscribe. Send an e-mail to staff@afghanwarnews.info or go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and submit your subscription request in the "Follow by Email" dialogue box in the top of the right hand column. It is easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

Book - COIN in Eastern Afghanistan (2004-2008)

A new book is out on counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. It covers the period of 2004-2008 in eastern Afghanistan. "The book looks at how, working with their Afghan counterparts, they engaged in a complex effort to rebuild security, development, and governance, all while fighting a low-intensity war." The book recounts the efforts of American military officers and civilians to help the local government officials and citizens. Robert Kemp was a U.S. State Department Foreign Service Officer who served in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2005 and from 2007 to 2008. He was the Deputy Director of the Pakistan Desk in Washington and also completed several short-term assignments in Pakistan. You can purchase the book on Amazon.com here:

Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004-2008: A Civilian Perspective

Turkmenistan and Border Incursions

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) presence in northern Afghanistan is extremely limited. The current force array consists of less than 4,000 personnel (mostly from European nations) posted at Camp Marmal (near Mazar-e-Sharif). There is only one small contingent of troops posted at an international border crossing; otherwise the U.S. and ISAF must rely on reports from the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and principally from the Afghan Border Police (ABP) on what is happening along the border. The ABP is less than competent and extremely corrupt; so any news coming from that organization is questionable. Reports are surfacing about border incursions by Turkmenistan armed forces but they are not coming from the Afghan government or ISAF. Read more in "Turkmenistan Armed Forces Reportedly Cross Afghanistan Border", EurAsia Net, September 18, 2014.

Peace Day Celebrated in Afghanistan

"Peace Day" was celebrated on September 21st around the world. Afghanistan, not be be the exception, also held events across the country to celebrate peace. Read more in "Peace Day celebrated in events across Afghanistan", United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), September 22, 2014.

Pakistani Prisoners Freed From U.S. Custody

Fourteen Pakistani prisoners were released from the Bagram Prison in Afghanistan. They were under U.S. custody and were repatriated to Pakistan. Reportedly they are under the control of Pakistan authorities. Read more in "14 Pakistanis freed from U.S. custody in Afghanistan's Bagram prison", Reuters, September 20, 2014.

Ghani, Abdullah, and DC Lobbyists

An interesting article on the lobbying efforts of Ghani (the new PoA) and Abdullah (new 'CEO') to work the PR machine in DC. Both candidates have been spending thousands of dollars per month to curry the favor of influence makers among Congress, the media, and think-tanks. Read more in "Afghan president-elect seeks favor in Washington", Kansas City Star, September 23, 2014.

Sarah Chayes Comments on Election Results

Sarah Chayes, a long-term observer (and resident) of Afghanistan, has posted her opinion on the results of the Afghan election at the LA Times. She believes that despite the huge turnout for the April 5th and June 14th elections the Afghan people were short-changed by Karzai's corrupt election mechanisms and the bargaining for the sharing of power between Ghani and Abdullah. Her opinion is that Afghanistan will not see a significant increase in good governance but just more corrupt officials taking their turn at the spoils. Read her Op-Ed in "New Afghan government; same old problems", Los Angeles Times, September 22, 2014. Chayes is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment and a contributing writer. She reported from and later lived in Afghanistan for most of the past decade and also served as special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Photo by U.S. Navy Captain Debbie Trader-Miller, 2007).

Arm-Twisting Yields "Unity Government"

There were a lot of behind the scenes conversations between the United States (Kerry and Obama) and the two Afghan presidential candidates to come to an agreement over the election results. These conversations are described in greater detail in "Finessing a power-sharing agreement in Afghanistan", The Washington Post, September 22, 2014.

SAGE - A New Terrain Awareness Tool

The Army is now using a new terrain awareness tool in conjunction with the Distributed Common Ground System - Army (DCGS-A). The Situational Awareness Geospatially Enabled (SAGE) tool is designed to increase the understanding of weather and terrain. Learn more in "US Army boots terrain awareness with new geospatial analysis tool", Army-Technology.com, September 19, 2014.

Pub - DoDD 2000.07, Irregular Warfare (IW)

The Defense Department has released a new publication that deals with irregular warfare. The pub is entitled "Department of Defense Directive Number 3000.07, Irregular Warfare, August 28, 2014. The directive establishes " . . . policy and assigns responsibility for DoD conduct of IW and development of capabilities to address irregular challenges or threats to national security . . . ". You can read online or download at the link below.
www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/300007p.pdf

Human Cost Afghan War for UK

The United Kingdom has lost 453 military members in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are many more who have been wounded and are still recovering from severe physical injuries. And, of course, there are those with the burden of mental scars not readily observed or recognized. Between 2001 and 2014 over 220,000 individuals deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan; some with multiple tours. Read more in "Iraq and Afghanistan: Human cost of war for British servicemen and women", BBC News UK, September 21, 2014.

Book Review -"Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution"

Richard Whittle, a fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., has recently published a book - "Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution". The history of the drones is examined as well as the current use of armed drones in the war against terror. Read a book review in "New Book Details History of Predator Drone", Defense Tech, September 19, 2014.

Daily Update on Afghan War

You can receive the Afghan War News Daily Newsletter each day. It should arrive in your e-mail inbox at 5:00 am Eastern Standard Time. It is easy to subscribe. Send an e-mail to staff@afghanwarnews.info or go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and submit your subscription request in the "Follow by Email" dialogue box in the top of the right hand column. It is easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the TTP

We all know that the Pakistan intelligence agency (Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI) supports the Haqqani Network as well as other insurgent groups that have sanctuary in Pakistan but operate in Afghanistan. What is not so well known is that there are insurgent groups that have sanctuary in Afghanistan's remote and unsecured regions (Nuristan, Kunar, etc.) and that operate against the Pakistan government. Read an informative article about the Pakistan military's fight against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in "The Afghan Roots of Pakistan's Zarb-e-Azb Operation" by Umar Farooq, posted on The South Asian Channel (Foreign Policy), September 18, 2014. Additional sources of info on the TTP include info provided by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and info by WikipediA.

DoD Press Releases - No Afghan News

The Department of Defense press machine has virtually ignored Afghanistan but is providing a mountain of information about Iraq (and Syria). Although there are still over 20,000 (?) U.S. troops still in Afghanistan and only 1,600 (?) in Iraq. This, of course, is intentional. The military and the administration want the public's focus to be on building support for intervention in Iraq (and Syria) and want to push Afghanistan into the background. Read more in "DOD highlights information from Iraq as emphasis shifts away from Afghanistan", Stars and Stripes, September 21, 2014.

How UK Deploys Reapers to Afghanistan

This news article provides a series of photos that show how the United Kingdom deploys its Reapers (drones) to Afghanistan. Call it "drone in a box". Read the news story here in The Aviationist (Sep 19, 2014).

Book Review - "One Million Steps"

Big West has a new book out entitled "One Million Steps". Bing West, a Vietnam veteran, writes about the Marine's fight in Helmand province. The author tracks the fighting of the 3/5 Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment as it secures Sangin district. West is complimentary of the Marine effort in Helmand province but critical of senior military leadership in their implementation of "population centric COIN" country-wide. Read "Book Review: 'One Million Steps' by Bing West", The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2014.

Australia Takes Stock of Afghanistan and Wonders about Iraq

Australia's objectives in Afghanistan were broad and deep but as time went on the expectations of establishing a modern democracy diminished. Now as it looks to become engaged in Iraq it wonders what lies down the road. The author of this news article compares Australia's involvement in Afghanistan and how hopes and dreams were dashed to the Australia's future involvement in Iraq. Read "Get ready to be mugged by complexity", The Age, September 19, 2014.

Germany's View of the Future of Afghanistan

Germany has held a leading role in Afghanistan from the early days of the conflict. Besides placing a number of personnel to serve on the ISAF and IJC staff they have deployed a significant number of troops to Regional Command North (now called TAAC North). MG Dieter Ernst Warnecke was the deputy commander of the ISAF Joint Command (IJC) in Afghanistan in 2013 and a former commander of Regional Command North in Mazar-i-Shariff. He provides his perspective on the future of Afghanistan in "Afghan combat mission definitely over", Deite Welde (DW), September 21, 2014.

Book Review - "Drone Warfare"

John Kaag and Sarah Kreps have wrote a book entitled Drone Warfare. The book was reviewed by Olivia Mena - a PhD candidate in the Sociology Department at the London School of Economics. She says the book " . . . is an interdisciplinary intervention jointly authored by a political scientist and a philosopher who grapple with how the use of armed drones not only changes the way we wage wars, but also, perhaps our very definitions of war and peace". The book is divided into three sections - the politics of drones, legality of drones, and the morality drones. Read the book review here on the website of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Transition Timeline

Transition, when referring to Afghanistan, is used to describe " . . . the process by which the lead responsibility for security in Afghanistan is gradually being transitioned from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to the Afghan National Security Forces". Transition is said to have been fully achieved by mid-summer 2013. ISAF has published an interactive timeline to explain transition - an informative tool to learn more about transition. You can also learn more about transition in Afghanistan here.

More Pink Slips for Afghan Troops

According to Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno more members of the U.S. Army currently deployed to Afghanistan could find out they have lost their job upon their return to the United States. The notifications are part of the force reduction process as a result of the defense budget cuts. Active duty Army end strength will drop from 510,000 to 490,000 in 2015; a reduction of 30,000. Service members usually get 9 months to transition from military duty. Read more in "Odierno: More troops in Afghanistan may get pink slips", Stars and Stripes, September 20, 2014.

Ghani to Name Woman to Supreme Court

The Associated Report says that the new president of Afghanistan Ghani will appoint a woman to the Afghan supreme court. This will cause dismay among conservative Islamic leaders in Afghanistan and win applause from women's rights organizations. Read more in "New Afghan Leader to Name Woman to Supreme Court", AP, September 22, 2014.

Afghan News - Daily Report

You can receive the Afghan War News Daily Newsletter each day. It should arrive in your e-mail inbox at 5:00 am Eastern Standard Time. It is easy to subscribe. Send an e-mail to staff@afghanwarnews.info or go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and submit your subscription request in the "Follow by Email" dialogue box in the top of the right hand column. It is easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

Ghani Declared Winner of Presidential Election

It finally happened. The Independent Election Commission (IEC) declared Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the new President of Afghanistan (referred to as PoA in the U.S. military). The actual numbers from the elections were not released and it is unknown if they ever will be released. While this might have been a factor in the agreement between the two candidates to move on it does not bode well for the democratic process and transparency of the Afghan election. Under the agreement Ghani will create by presidential decree the position of chief executive for Abdullah - with the intent that the constitution will be amended to create the position of Prime Minister. Read more in "Ghani is new president of Afghanistan, official says", CNN World News, September 22, 2014.