Taliban Attacks Continue

While many are waiting for the fighting season to end (it usually tapers down in the fall) the Taliban still seem to be busy. They recently killed the District Chief of Police (DCoP) for Nad Ali district in Helmand province. Read more in "Insurgent Attacks Kill 10 Across Afghanistan", ABC News, October 15, 2014.

Bulgaria to Join Resolute Support Mission

Now that the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) between Afghanistan and the United States has been signed other nations are making decision on whether to continue helping Afghanistan and formalizing their agreements with Afghanistan. Bulgaria recently decided to take part in the NATO-led Resolute Support mission. There will be about 110 Bulgarian military members in Afghanistan that will focus on the preparation, support and provision of advisors for Afghan institutions (MoI, MoD, etc.). Read more in "Bulgaria to take part in NATO-led Resolute Support mission", BNR.bg, October 15, 2014.

International Humanitarian Aid Drying Up

As Afghanistan moves from center stage on the world scene the international community is sending less aid. Other areas of the world (Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Africa, etc.) are taking the attention in the news and demanding scarce resources. One example of the diminished aid is an Afghan girl's school in Kandahar. The Kandahar Institute of Modern Studies will be closing its doors. It's reliance on international aid kept it open but the aid has fallen off. Read more in "Afghan girl's school in Kandahar faces closure as international funds dry up", The Guardian, October 15, 2014.

Rula Ghani - a Bio

Rula Ghani, the wife of Afghanistan's President Ghani, is not keeping a low profile. She intends to play a role in Afghan society (much to the dismay of conservative religious leaders in Afghanistan). In being publicly in the open she will become a lighting rod for the opposition. Her issues that she hopes to promote include women and children rights in a conflict-ridden nation. Read more in "Afghanistan's new first lady to focus on women and children", DW.de, October 16, 2014.

India Provides Entrepreneurial Training to Afghans

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs is providing entrepreneurial training to Afghan professionals through its ITEC fellowship program. The program enhances management skills in project development, gender development and planning. Read more in "India offers entrepreneurial skills to Afghan professionals", Business Standard, October 16, 2014.

Video - "Street Angels"

There are an estimated six million children working part or full time on the streets of Afghanistan. A photography project run by the French Institute in Kabul gave cameras to some of these children. The video shows us a unique perspective on the children's lives. View Street Angels: a child's view of Kabul, October 16, 2014, NATO TV (3:17 mins).

New PM for DCGS-A

For all you Intel types out there who have had the frustration of working with the Army's Distributed Common Ground System there is some news. The DCGS-A venture has a new program manager. His job will be to roll out new (and better) versions of DCGS to intelligence analysts that actually work. Read more in "New program manager of DCGS-A hopes for strong start", FCW.com, October 14, 2014.

Afghan Daily News

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.

Telecommunications Industry Continues to Improve

The telecommunications industry in Afghanistan is one of the bright spots of the Afghan economy. Over 89% of Afghanistan has cell phone coverage. Most of the population (about 30 million) has access to cell phones. The banking industry has been revolutionized by financial transactions by cell phone - helping the economy improve and reducing corruption in the military and government. There are six mobile operators in Afghanistan: MTN, Etisalat, AWCC, Roshan, Afghan Telecom, and Wasel Telecom. Ericsson, a telecommunications company, currently provides network and IT operations services to MTN and is on the verge of providing the same services to another Afghan telco. Read more in "Ericsson in talks for second Afghan telco contract", Gulf News, October 14, 2014.

Pakistan Cooperation in Drone Attacks

It appears that Pakistan is once again cooperating with the United States on drone attacks against insurgent targets in Pakistan. A series of drone attacks conducted by the CIA in early October leads some observers to conclude that the cooperation is improving. It would appear that the drone attacks are in support of Pakistani military operations in the North Waziristan tribal area. The Pakistani military has launched a months-long offensive against Pakistan Taliban insurgents. Read more in "Pakistan, U.S. again cooperating on drone strikes", News and Observer, October 14, 2014.

More Strykers to Get Double V-Hulls

Another Stryker Brigade Combat Team will be receiving Double V-Hull vehicles to protect them from roadside IEDs. This project will refurbish 360 vehicles between the years 2016-2018 (dependent on funding of course). If funded, this will be the fourth Stryker Brigade to get the new design. Also included in the re-design is improved mine resistant blast seating, improved fire suppression features, and a better suspension system. Currently there are nine Stryker brigades - three of the with the double hull configuration. Read more in "Army Will Buy More Strykers with Double V-Hulls", DoD Buzz, October 14, 2014. (Photo by U.S. Army, March 4, 2012).

India to Remain Friend of Afghanistan

The Prime Minister of India has said to President Ghani that India will stand by as a friend and partner. During their phone call they both said "good things" about each other. Read more in "India will stand as friend and partner, Modi tells new Afghan president", Business Standard, October 15, 2014.

First Lady Stepping Out

Zeenat Karzai, the wife of former President Karzai, was kept hidden from view. Rula Ghani does not hide well. She will likely have a public role in advocating for Afghan women and children. Among urban and educated Afghans this is likely seen as a step forward. However, religious conservatives are fuming. Mrs. Ghani, a Christian, met here husband in Beirut, Lebanon and moved to the United States with him. She is Lebanese-American. Read more in "Jolting Some, Afghan Leader Brings Wife Into the Picture", The New York Times, October 15, 2014.

Elections and Young Democracies

Jordan Olmstead has wrote a piece entitled "Will AfPak Democracy Survive?" posted on The South Asia Channel of Foreign Policy on October 14, 2014. He looks back at the Afghan elections and examines the rise in political violence that young democracies experience.

"If not me, then who?"

The management team at Team Rubicon make the case that the United States should provide opportunities for Afghan and Iraq war veterans to contribute once they leave military service. They say that the vast majority of returning veterans want to continue to serve their country - not only here in the United States but in troubled areas overseas. They believe that organizations such as the Peace Corp and USAID should make a concerted effort to recruit veterans for their programs and that funding should be increased to support those programs. Read more in "Why We Should Send Vets Back to Iraq and Afghanistan", Time.com, October 14, 2014.

Operation Inherent Resolve

While Afghanistan is still struggling with their insurgency, high ANSF casualty rates, concern about international financial support during the Resolute Support mission, post-election crisis, economic downturn, and more - the world's attention is focused on the Ebola crisis in Africa and the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Pentagon has finally named the campaign against ISIS - it is called "Operation Inherent Resolve". Kind of catchy, isn't it? NOT! Sounds just a bit bland.

France to Fund Agriculture Development

The government of France will spend 10 million Euros for agricultural development projects in central Maidan Wardak and Bamyan provinces of Afghanistan. Read more on the story here, Khaama Press (Afghanistan online news), October 14, 2014.

More on Bulgarian Commando Select Vehicles

Yesterday we posted news about the Bulgarian Army getting new Commando Select armored personnel carriers for their upcoming Afghan deployments. Here is a news article on the same topic with a little bit more information - "Bulgarian military orders Commando Select vehicles from Textron", Army Technology.com., October 15, 2014.

Inquest Into Insider Attack Against Diggers

An inquest is underway in Australia concerning the death of three Australian military members on Patrol Base Wahab in Afghanistan. The soldiers were killed by an Afghan soldier in August 2012. This time period was plagued by a rash of insider attacks - killings of ISAF military members by personnel in the Afghan National Security Forces. Read more in "Diggers ill-prepared for Afghan attack, inquest told", The Australian, October 15, 2014.

Receive Daily Afghan War News by Email

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.

Contract Helicopter Support for TAAC North

German forces in Afghanistan have recently contracted for civilian contract air with Basta Holdings Corp. The contract has an initial deployment of one helicopter for non-military logistical support. A medium-sized utility helicopter is now operating out of Mazar-e-Sharif (Camp Marmal) in northern Afghanistan. There may be an option for providing additional helicopters as needed. Read more in "Basta Holdings to Provice ACMI Helicopter Leasing in Afghanistan Through New Agreement", Yahoo.com Finance News, October 13, 2014.

NATO Public Affairs Handbook

The nature of warfare has changed over the last few decades. First the wide availability of television changed the dynamics of war coverage during the Vietnam War in the 1960's. The media coverage of print and television in the 1970s also afforded terrorist groups a means to get their message out to the world at large; commit a horrible act of terrorism and you will soon have the media's attention - usually resulting in "Why did they do this?" The Internet, email, and social media have further transformed the rapid dissemination of "news". This was quite apparent during the Iraq and Afghan Wars. To ensure that NATO gets their message out to the public (via the media) it trains up its public affairs personnel. One training mechanism is the NATO Public Affairs Handbook (July 2010) available at the following link:

http://www.aco.nato.int/resources/13/handbookforweb2010[1].pdf

Bulgarian Army to use Commando Select in Afghanistan

The Bulgarian Army will receive ten new Commando Select vehicles in 2015 in Afghanistan. These four-wheeled armored personnel carries offer survivability and mobility on the battlefield. The vehicle comes in many configurations and some models will carry up to 10 personnel (three crew members plus passengers). (Photo at left from Textron Systems website.) In the past Bulgaria has maintained a presence of over 600 personnel in Afghanistan. In mid-2013 the number was 383. This will likely be reduced as ISAF withdraws its forces in late 2014. Bulgaria's mission for quite a while was interior security at Kandahar's airport and the advise and assist mission. It appears that Bulgaria will continue to send advisors to assist the Afghan National Security Forces in 2015. Learn more on the vehicle purchase at Market Watch (Oct 13, 2014).

Women Drivers in Afghanistan

There are very few women drivers in Afghanistan. Not only must these intrepid drivers brave the traffic (in Kabul it is horrible) but they must endure the stares of men who have trouble with the vision of women drivers. Read more in "Women drivers in Afghanistan must brave the traffic and the stares", The Washington Post, October 13, 2014.

Taliban Kill 22 ANSF in Sar-e Pol Province

News reports are indicating that 22 Afghan security personnel were killed in an ambush in Sar-e-Pul province in northern Afghanistan. Eight more were wounded and seven were captured. Six convoy vehicles were destroyed. Northern Afghanistan has seen an uptick in insurgent activity in the past few years as ISAF forces have conducted their retrograde (withdrawal). In the north the (mostly European countries) have collapsed from the east and west into the center (onto Camp Marmal in Mes-e-Sharif). Read more in "Afghanistan Taliban kill 22 in mountain ambush", BBC News Asia, October 13, 2014.

Commander Pigeon - Female Warlord in Afghanistan

Here is an interesting story about a female Afghan warlord - Commander Pigeon. Read "My Terrifying Night With Afghanistan's Only Female Warlord", by Jen Percy, New Republic, October 13, 2014.

Female Afghan Journalists Behind the Burqa

There are a small number of female Afghan journalists. They face a number of obstacles in their work - among them threats from the Taliban and intimidation from conservative members of Afghan society. Read more in "Some Female Afghan Journalists Slip Back Behind the Burqa", Voice of America, October 11, 2014.

Four Challenges for Ghani

D. Suba Chandran has identified four major challenges for the new president of Afghanistan. They are listed as "One Country, Two Executives", "The Shifting American Focus Towards Iraq", "Advantage Taliban-Pakistan", and "It's the Economy, Stupid". Read the article in "The New Afghanistan: Four Major Challenges for President Ghani - Analysis", EuraisaReview.com, October 13, 2014.

Three Cups of Tea? Back in the Game?

It has been reported that the disgraced author of "Three Cups of Tea", Greg Mortenson, has returned to Afghanistan. His charity, the Central Asia Institute, underwent an investigation in 2012. It was found that he had spent millions in donations on his expenses, travel, and clothing. There were a number of fabrications in his book. Many of the schools for girls that he claimed to have built do not exist. The co-author of his book committed suicide. But despite all of these setbacks Mortenson is still working on his projects in Afghanistan. Read more in "Three Cups of Tea author returns to Afghanistan, trying to move past his disgrace", Stars and Stripes, October 13, 2014.

Daily Afghan War News by Email

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.

ISAF To Pat Itself on the Back

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) will be running a social media campaign they are calling "Nations, Impacts, and Contributions" or NIC. It is a social media campaign highlighting NATO and non-NATO partners' unique contributions to the ISAF mission. The program runs from October 12th through December 31st, 2014 (the end of the ISAF mission). The campaign will use photo, video and print products and each of the more than 50 countries will get their "own day". This "feel good" campaign is dedicating one day to each of the nations that contributed troops. Read more in an ISAF news release entitled "ISAF recognizes nations through social media campaign (NIC)", ISAF News, October 13, 2014. ISAF has posted a video introducing the campaign and provided a calendar of events as well; so if you are from Estonia your day is November 3, Georgia your day is November 5, and Italy then your day is November 14. Looks like it is in alphabetical order; putting the U.S. last.

The NIC campaign can be viewed on the following ISAF websites:
www.isaf.nato.int
www.facebook.com/ISAF
https://twitter.com/ISAFmedia

Chancellor Merkel Wants to Extend German Mission

Chancellor Merkel believes that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) will not be ready by the end of 2015. She believes that they will need assistance beyond 2015. The biggest camp where the Bundeswehr is currently stationed is Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. That camp is scheduled to close next year at the end of 2015. Afghanistan is still plagued by a thriving drug trade, rampant corruption, and a resilient Taliban. Germany has been the third-largest contributor of troops to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Read more in "Merkel wants to extend Afghan mission", The Local DE, October 13, 2014.

Turkmenistan Fortifies Afghan Border

Turkmenistan is nervous about post-ISAF Afghanistan. The Taliban is thriving and giving the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) a tough time. Casualties for the ANSF have been up 30% this year. In addition, two districts in northern Afghanistan were overrun by the Taliban; one held for over three weeks before being recaptured by the 207th Corps. So Turkmenistan, following the lead of other Central Asian countries along Afghanistan's northern border, is fortifying the border. Read more in "Turkmenistan's New Afghan Border Policy", Radio Free Europe, October 10, 2014.

Tax Relief for U.S. Contractors

It appears that the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) signed by President Ghani will provide protection to U.S. firms and contractors who are providing services to the Department of Defense or other U.S. agencies. Read more in "Bilateral Security Agreement Could Mean Afghan Tax Relief for U.S. Contractors", The National Law Review, October 13, 2014.

Ghani and 1st Steps to Good Governance

It appears that President Ghani is making some very strong initial strides in establishing good governance in Afghanistan. He has made some excellent decisions in streamlining the governmental process. Thomas Ruttig provides a detailed analysis of Ghani's first days. Read The Start into the Better Governance Marathon: Ghani's first days", Afghanistan Analysts Network, October 11, 2014.

Plight of Women in Afghanistan

A news article in The Huffington Post updates us on the plight of women in Afghanistan. Topics such as "bride price', lack of access to health and education, poverty, regressive social norms, and detrimental cultural practices contribute to the many problems presented to women in Afghanistan. Read more in "International Day of the Girl: Afghanistan Through the Eyes of the Girl" (October 10, 2014).

Afghanistan Mining Industry and Women

Afghanistan is rich in mineral resources but still hampered by security and infrastructure problems in exploiting those resources. Observers are hopeful that the mining industry can assist in strengthening Afghanistan's economy yet some are concerned about the possible adverse effects on Afghanistan's women. Read more in "Afghanistan's Mining Industry, Crucial for Economy, Holds Risks for Women", United States Institute of Peace, October 10, 2014.

Drawdown Affects More than Troops

The draw down of forces from Afghanistan is affecting more than the troops who are deployed there. The U.S. will be cutting back to about 9,800 troops and NATO to 2,000-3,000 troops by the end of December 2014. Along with these troop cutbacks are the reduction in the contractor force. One of the biggest contingents of contractors is supplied by the Philippines. At one time there were over 6,000 Filipinos in Afghanistan. The number currently (Oct 14) stands at about 4,000. Read more in "Pullout of US troops to affect 4,000 OFWs in Afghanistan", Business Mirror, October 12, 2014.

Suicide Bombings Continue in Afghanistan

The suicide bombers continue to attack both the Afghan National Security Forces and NATO targets as well. Read more in "Suicide Bombers Kill 3 in Afghanistan", The New York Times, October 13, 2014.

Subscribe to Afghan Daily News

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.

Kabul Bank Scandal: A Promising Start

President Ghani is impressing observers with his quick re-opening of the Kabul Bank scandal investigation. He has promised to attack corruption within the Afghan government and this is a great start. Read more in "Kabul Bank Scandal: If at First President Ghani Does Succeed", Khaama Press, October 13, 2014.

Cellphone Photos of Women - A Cultural Problem

The rise of technology is generally considered a good thing. In Afghanistan the telecommunications industry (cell phones especially) has transformed Afghan society. Unfortunately, there are some downsides. One emerging adverse development is the selling of videos and photographs of Afghan women by the gigabyte to store on computers and cellphones. This, in a very conservative society like Afghanistan, is a cultural problem. Read more in "Cellphone snapshots of women cause stir in conservative Afghanistan", Stars and Stripes, October 11, 2014.

More on the C-27A Spartan Fiasco

The media is starting to ask some hard questions on why 16 perfectly good aircraft of the Afghan Air Force were scrapped. The $486 million program was reduced to $32,000 of scrap metal. Read more in "U.S. Air force probed for scrapping costly planes bought for Afghans", AOL.com, October 10, 2014.

Details of $44 Million MD 530F Helicopter Contract

You can read more details on the MD 530F helicopter contract for Afghanistan's Air Force in "MD Helicopters Awarded $44.2M Contract to Weaponize MD 530F Fleet for Afghan Air Force", Vertical Magazine, October 10, 2014.

Post-Mortem: Afghan Election

An observer and analyst of events in South Asia, Sharif Azami, has posted a post mortem on the Afghan election. He makes some great observations and draws some interesting conclusions in "The Ballot Stuffing Equilibrium and a Messy Compromise: Winners and Losers of the Afghan Elections", The Huffington Blog, October 10, 2014.

C-5M Super Galaxy and Afghan Retrograde

Next to the Security Force Assistance (SFA) mission in Afghanistan the next biggest mission is retrograde. Getting personnel and equipment home to the United States as the troop commitment drops to 9,800 in December 2014. The c-5M Super Galaxy is playing a big role in the retrograde mission. Read more in "Airmen take retrograde operations to the next level", DVIDS, October 10, 2014.

IMU Weakened

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) has operated in northern Afghanistan, eastern Afghanistan, and northwestern Pakistan for a number of years. It suffered a high rate of casualties in the last three or four years as a result of stepped up targeting by U.S. special operations forces. At the moment it is severely weakened. In an attempt to strengthen its position it has recently allied itself with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL). Read more in "Helplessness forces IMU to call itself an ISIL partner", Central Asia Online, October 10, 2014.

Bergdahl Investigation Concluded

Stars and Stripes reports (October 10, 2014) that the Bergdahl investigation has been completed. He disappeared from a base in Afghanistan five years ago and was captured by the Taliban. The next stage in the investigation is a lengthy review process. Bergdahl is currently assigned to U.S. Army North at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. Read more in the article - "Bergdahl investigation finished".

Kerry Sees Turning Point in Afghanistan

Secretary of State John Kerry seems optimistic about the future of Afghanistan. He says the resolution of the election crisis and the formation of the national unity government are signs of hope that the country can get on track. Read the news story in "Kerry: Afghan Unity Govt. Could Prove Turning Point", Voice of America, October 11, 2014.

Paper - "How Do Insurgencies End?"

The Small Wars Journal  has posted (October 10, 2014) a journal article entitled "How Do Insurgencies End?" by Russell Croy. The author recently graduated with a M.A. in Political Science from Colorado State University and served in the Marines in the Al Anbar region of Iraq in early 2008. Croy explores the issue of why some insurgencies end quickly and others go on for decades. He notes that many scholars have provided papers on how to understand insurgencies they don't provide much info on how these insurgencies end. He then compares two insurgencies to illustrate his argument - that of Chechnya and in West Java. He draws a distinction in defeating an insurgency and ending an insurgency; and concludes that the ending of an insurgency should start not also from a position of military action but from the end goal of achieving a desirable and peaceful outcome.