HRW - Report on "Strongmen"

The Human Rights Watch organization has released a report entitled "Today We Shall All Die: Afghanistan's Strongmen and the Legacy of Impunity". The report is 96 pages and

" . . . profiles eight "strongmen" linked to police, intelligence, and militia forces responsible for serious abuses in recent years. The report documents emblematic incidents that reflect longstanding patterns of violence for which victims obtained no official redress. The impunity enjoyed by powerful figures raises serious concerns about Afghan government and international efforts to arm, train, vet, and hold accountable Afghan National Police units, National Directorate of Security officials, and Afghan Local Police forces."

You can read the Human Rights Watch press release here - "Afghanistan: Abusive Strongmen Escape Justice", March 3, 2015. You can read online or download the report here. Read additional news reports about the warlords of Afghanistan.

Video - "Spotlight on Security in Kabul"

A NATO Channel video about security in Kabul is posted on YouTube.com. The video explains the security situation in Kabul and what the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are doing to improve security. General Rahimi, the new Police Chief of Kabul, is interviewed about the security problems facing Kabul. In late 2014 there was a rise in violence by the Taliban, Haqqani Network, and other insurgent groups. A number of ANSF casualties were inflicted as well as attacks against foreign Soldiers and members of the humanitarian community. The video is narrated by Lauren Muchan and published on March 3, 2015.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU2ppVHuZYc

ISAF Data on ANSF Now Declassified

ISAF HQs (now Resolute Support) had unexpectedly classified data about the Afghan National Security  Forces (ANSF) that for over a decade had been unclassified. After criticism from Congress and the media the Resolute Support HQs declassified the data so it is now once again available to Congress and the public. Read the newly declassified material in a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), published in late February 2014. One key graphic in the now unclassified report depicts a decline in end strength for the ANA force levels. In February 2014 the total for ANA personnel was almost 185,000. The figures for November 2014 show a figure of 169,000 - a significant drop in personnel.

www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/Supplement_2015-01-30qr.pdf

UNAMA Torture Report

The United Nations has released a report about torture in Afghanistan. Seems that some detainees are still 'roughly handled' but not as many as before. Read more in "UN: Torture 'regular and prevalent' in Afghanistan", Stars and Stripes, February 25, 2015. The Afghans have responded to the report with this online message posted on February 25, 2015 on the "Office of the President" website. As a result of the report the Afghans are launching  a new program called "National Program for Elimination of Torture". The program will be implemented in coordination with Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Civil Society organizations, and other relevant international partners.

Guide to Change Management for RoL - EF3

Dr.Vivienne O'Connor of the International Network to Promote the Rule of Law (INPROL) has penned a practitioner's guide entitled Guide to Change and Change Management for Rule of Law Pratitioners, January 2015. A good reference for Rule of Law advisors working in Essential Function 3 RoL. Chapters in the guide include: I. Introduction, II. Theory of change for RoL Assistance, III. Applying Change Concepts to RoL - Assessment to Design and Implementation, and IV. Creating a Change Management Strategy.

COIN and Carter Malkasian

Carter Malkasian - book author, advisor to COMISAF, and political advisor for DoS in Afghanistan - was recently interviewed by Octavian Manea about the effectiveness of counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan. He provides his opinion about COIN at the tactical level and COIN at the strategic level (having seen both during his tours in Afghanistan). Read "Thoughts from Garmser and Kabul", Small Wars Journal, February 14, 2015.

UN Report - Taliban and Drugs

A recent report for the United Nations Security Council states that the Taliban are now engaging more and more in drug trafficking and criminal activities. According to the report there is a new "scale and depth" to the Taliban's integration with criminal networks. Read more in "Afghan Taliban now smuggle drugs and gems like mafia: U.N. report", Reuters, February 11, 2015.

ANSF Suffer Heavy Losses in 2014

The Afghan Army lost more than 20,000 fighters last year largely because of desertions, discharges and deaths in combat. It also saw a significant decline in personnel end strength - casting doubts on its ability to provide security for the nation. Staffing levels have fallen to the lowest levels since 2011. Read more in "Figures From U.S.-Led Coalition Show Heavy Losses for Afghan Army", The New York Times, March 3, 2015. See also "The Afghan military is shrinking as the Pentagon withdraws its troops", The Washington Post, March 3, 2015.

Video - "Sandhurst in the Sand"

NATO Channel has produced a video about the "Sandhurst in the Sand" officer academy located near Kabul. The officer academy is forging the next generation of Afghan National Army (ANA) officers. Watch this 5 minute long video posted on YouTube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXaUULKNZ0I

Daily News Snippets (Mar 4, 2015)

The remnants of the Karzai administration are still in place. This is especially true of the Acting Governors that remain in charge of provinces. There is a lack of any accountability to the new government. As of February 2015 only three governors have been introduced (Farah, Paktika, and Kunduz). The remaining 31 provinces are governed by appointees of Karzai. Therefore corruption still remains a major problem and a root cause of the insurgency. Read more in "Accusations of Corruption, Negligence Against Acting Governors Increase", Tolo News, February 19, 2015.

Ambassadors Fired. Some Karzai appointees are finding their futures uncertain. Reports indicate that President Ghani has sacked eleven Afghan Ambassadors on March 2, 2015. 

Police Officials Sacked. President Ghani has fired 27 senior police officers as part of a drive towards good governance. Many of them had strong connections with politicians, strongmen, or warlords. Most have found their way into other jobs - so don't cry too much for them. Read the news article (BBC News Asia, March 2, 2015).

Afghan Police Women. Press reports say that over 190 female police officers returned to Afghanistan after completing four months of training in Turkey. 

Kidnapped Hazaras. The 30 kidnapped Hazaras are still in captivity in Zabul province. They were taken off two buses traveling to Kabul when taken hostage. Reports indicate a rescue operation may be underway soon. Khaama Press says the rescue effort is taking place in the Khah-i-Afghan district of Zabul. There is speculation that the 30 passengers were kidnapped by DAISH (ISIS).

Avalanches in northern Afghanistan are taking its toll. Over 285 citizens have died thus far and three districts are heavily impacted. This is a yearly event. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has issued a condolence statement. General Campbell of Resolute Support HQs has done the same on Facebook. U.S., Czech, and Georgian troops are assisting with the delivery of aid. This year the avalanches have taken place in the Panjshir valley (Panjshir province). Recent snowfall accumulation has caused some flash flooding as well.

ANP Funding. International donors worry whether Kabul has the administrative capacity to oversee Western taxpayer money properly. Read "Afghanistan Struggles With Police Funding", The Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2015.

Rula Ghani. The First Lady of Afghanistan is now on the U.S. Afghan Women's Council (USAWC) along with Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton. Read more in this news release by Georgetown University.

Interpreters who worked for the Coalition are under threat in Afghanistan. Read "Interpreter pleads for protection from Taliban killers", The Times, March 3, 2015.

The nonprofit organization - International Relief and Development (IRD) - has been suspended by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). IRD had some significant problems in meeting the contract stipulations of some of the aid projects it was in charge of in Afghanistan. Read more in a news report by Non Profit Quarterly, dated March 2, 2015.

A women serving a 20-year sentence in the women's section of Nangarhar Prison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan is a notorious character. She is convicted of taking part in the murders of 27 men. Read more in a news article by The New York Times, February 28, 2015.

Lack of Transparency in Mining Contracts. The Minister of Mines and Petroleum says that a team of technical experts will be reassessing the majority of the mining contracts because of a lack of transparency in the process that awarded the contracts. Read more in "Minister Says Mining Contracts to be Reexamined", Tolo News,  February 20, 2015.

For years commentators will be writing on whether we won the war in Afghanistan. Some say it is too soon to tell. Others want to declare victory now. I guess it depends on how you define victory. Read one view point in "Yes, we did win in Afghanistan", War Council Blog, February 23, 2015.

U.S. Navy in a Landlocked Country. Even though Afghanistan has no ocean the U.S. Navy has had a long-time presence in the country since the start of the conflict. This continues today under Resolute Support. For instance, the NATO Role 3 Multi-national Medical Unit on Kandahar Airfield has a diverse group of Navy reservists from 22 different states. (DVIDS, March 3, 2015).

The U.S. Army continues to sink money into its Distributed Common Ground System - Army (DCGS-A). This computer-based intelligence program has cost billions of dollars and is still wanting. See "Textron to enhance DCGS-A data", C4ISR & Networks, February 5, 2015. See also DCGS-A.

Sharpen Your Writing Skills

The Afghan War News Blog and the Afghan War News website are constantly striving to keep its blog, daily newsletter, and website factual, current, and relevant. If you have a link to a website or document you feel should be shared with the greater community then please send it to us. In addition, we are looking for individuals with some knowledge, experience, and expertise in Afghanistan on a wide range of topics to contribute blog posts and articles to our blog and add content to our website. And naturally, if you see errors, outdated information, or broken links please let us know.

staff@afghanwarnews.info

Afghan News and Coffee at 5:00 am

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. Go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and submit your subscription request in the "Follow by Email" dialogue box at the top of the right hand column. The only info needed is your email. No personal data, forms to fill out, or passwords needed. It is also easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

AAF Medics Teach Lifesaving Skills to ANA

The Afghan Air Force (AAF) is sending out small medical teams to teach MEDEVAC procedures to medics of the Afghan National Army (ANA). Recently two AAF flight medics traveled to Herat in western Afghanistan to train 19 ANA soldiers in the fundamentals of loading and offloading patients from the Mi-17 helicopter and the C-208 Cessna Caravan (a small fixed-wing aircraft). Both of these aircraft are used by the AAF to transport wounded and injured members of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to medical care. While the Mi-17 can land in areas without an airstrip the C-208 has greater range (but requires an airstrip). Sometimes both aircraft are used in combination to transport the injured and wounded - called a hub-and-spoke principle of casualty evacuation. Read more in "Afghan Air Force medics teach lifesaving skills to ANA troops", RS News, January 28, 2014. (Photo by Capt. Jeff M. Nagan, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing).

A-10 Treason Patch

The A-10 Treason Bird Patch is now available for U.S. Air Force officers who wish to kiss their careers goodbye. The patch is now authorized for those officers who verbally express their support for the A-10 Warthog and who question the ability of the F-35 to provide adequate close air support to ground forces. The patch is available from Doctrine Man at the link below:

http://doctrineman.tumblr.com/post/112183832144/a-10-treason-bird-morale-patch

SIGAR Report - Testimony for Senate

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has provided a 17 page transcript on its testimony before a committee of the U.S. Senate about the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. The testimony was present to the committee for its upcoming deliberations for the Department of State Fiscal Year 2016 budget request for Afghanistan. The statement entitled Improving the Effectiveness of U.S. Reconstruction Efforts in Afghanistan by Enhancing Oversight and Addressing Key Areas of High Risk was published on February 24, 2015 and is available at the link below.

www.sigar.mil/pdf/testimony/SIGAR-15-36-TY.pdf

7th ID to form Kandahar HQs

Recent news reports indicate that the U.S. intends to maintain a presence in Kandahar into the foreseeable future. Perhaps into 2016. The Army is sending the 7th Infantry Division headquarters from Joint Base Lewis-McChord on a year-long deployment to Kandahar airfield in a few months. The hqs could stay on through the 2015 fighting season into early 2016. This would be a change to the "Kabul Centric" approach originally contemplated for 2016. It appears that the "hub and spoke" concept of 2015 (RS HQs in Kabul with TAACs in Gamberi, MeS, Herat, and Kandahar) will survive into 2016. The Germans are likely to stay in MeS beyond 2015. And now the Americans in Kandahar. Can the Italians be convinced to stay on in Herat? Read more in a news report by McClatchy DC dated February 24, 2015.

Fighting Season Not Quite Over

The Taliban have continued their attacks this winter. Usually attacks go down significantly when the cold weather and snow approaches. But last year and again this year the pace of the fighting has not decreased as much as in past years. Some of these attacks are highly effective - such as the attack against the Afghan National Police (ANP) in Pul-i-Alam, Logar province. Just 50 miles south of Kabul, this provincial police station suffered a devastating attack by four Taliban suicide bombers dressed as police officers. They killed at least 20 people and wounded many more. Read about the attack in "Taliban bombers kill at least 20 in Afghan attack", Stars and Stripes, February 17, 2015.

Germany Building New Engineering College in Balkh

Germany is continuing its development aid to Afghanistan in 2015. The country is providing funding (3.4 million Euros) for the construction of an engineering college in Balkh province. The college will provide education in railway construction, plumbing, electricity, road construction, and masonry. Germany is funding the project through its Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KFW) Development Bank. (Info taken from "Germany building new engineering college in Balkh", Khaama Press, February 16, 2015.

Book Review - "88 Days to Kandahar"

Retired CIA operative Robert L. Grenier has wrote a book entitled 88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary. Alissa J. Rubin provides us a book review highlighting the positives and negatives of the book. Read her book review in "Robert L. Grenier's '88 Days to Kandahar'", The New York Times, February 11, 2015. Read more book reviews on 88 Days to Kandahar.

Grenier served as the station chief for the CIA in Pakistan during the invasion of Afghanistan by the United States. He was instrumental in the development of policy and execution of the invasion in the early days of the war. His story recounts how Hamid Karzai came to power and entered Kandahar with his resistance forces; toppling the Taliban regime in southern Afghanistan.

ISIS Threat in Afghanistan

The government of Afghanistan and Resolute Support Headquarters have finally admitted they have an ISIS problem. Although a small problem - it could get bigger quick if not managed properly. One only has to look at the rapid rise of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria to feel concern. Ministry of Interior (MoI) spokesman Siddiq Sidiqqi admitted there was an ISIS presence in Afghanistan on February 10, 2015. On a good news front Mullah Abdul Rauk Khadim, a prime recruiter for the Islamic State in Afghanistan, was killed in a recent military operation in Helmand province. The Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) confirmed that the capture or death of the former Taliban commander (recently released from Guantanamo prison) was a top priority. Another group, the Islamic Organization of Great Afghanistan has expressed its willingness to fight for the Islamic State. There is speculation that the newly minted Afghan Islamic State followers would clash with the resident Taliban groups in the south - and that support from 'outsiders' will not be forthcoming from the population of the region. It is hard to tell at this point according to most observers. There are also reports that ISIS is recruiting and forming guerrilla bands in northern Afghanistan. It should be an interesting fighting season this spring and summer. Read more in "Afghanistan Wakes Up to Islamic State Threat", Gandhara Blog - Radio Free Europe, February 14, 2015.

Cordsman - Effective Use of Advisors

Anthony H. Cordsman, writing for the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), has penned a paper entitled "Boots on the Ground: The Realities in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria" published on February 13, 2015. He faults the U.S. advisory effort in several areas to include the lack of an integrated Civil-Military strategy, lack of an effective advisory effort in the field, advisors without the necessary mix of skills, and lack of effective combat support and enablers to assist our indigenous allies. Interesting reading.

http://csis.org/publication/boots-ground-realities-afghanistan-iraq-and-syria

Video - Aftermath of the Endless War

The Miller Center of the University of Virginia presents a one-hour long video discussing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The panel consists of John Nagl and Daniel Bolger. Nagl, a retired Army LTC, was an early convert to the use of counterinsurgency to fight against the insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was a co-author of FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency, 2006. Bolger, a retired three-star general, served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Nagl is the author to two books and numerous articles published in various publications and Bolger is the author of a recent book entitled Why We Lost: A General's Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Nagl has an optimistic view of our accomplishments in both wars but Bolger has a more pessimistic view of the outcomes thus far. You can watch the panel discussion in the video found at the link below.

http://millercenter.org/events/2015/the-u.s.-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-what-have-we-learned-about-politics-and-mi

Daily News Snippets (March 3, 2015)

Argument for Enduring Counter-terrorism Mission for Afghanistan. Michael O'Hanlon, an observer of conflict and military affairs, has provided us his perspective on the Obama timetable for a time-based departure of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. O'Hanlon argues that we need to keep a counter-terrorism capability (drones, special operations, helicopters, etc.) located at three key bases in Afghanistan (Kandahar, Bagram, and Jalalabad). Read more in "We still need U.S. bases in Afghanistan", The Washington Post, February 19, 2015.

How is that NUG Working? Aljazeera has published a news article that looks at how the National Unity Government (NUG) in Afghanistan is doing. The article examines the way that Ghani and Abdullah are working together to get things done. It asks the question - "Can two former political foes overcome a bitter election stalemate to combat the country's endemic corruption?". Read the excellent article in Afghanistan's Team of Rivals, February 19, 2015.
http://projects.aljazeera.com/2015/02/afghanistan-rivals/

President Obama says that combat operations in Afghanistan are over. He should tell that to the Marines! A small element of U.S. Marines are engaged in "operations" helping in the defense of Bagram Air Field. They work alongside the 51st Light Infantry Battalion of the Georgian military as part of the Georgian Liaison Team. Read more in "Marines continue fighting alongside Georgians in Afghanistan", Marine Corps Times, March 1, 2015.

The New York Times provides us with some metrics on how women in Afghanistan have seen considerable improvement in living and work conditions over the past decade and more. The situation for women of Afghanistan is compared with women in the nearby countries of Iran, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Read more in "Narrowing the Gap" (March 1, 2015).

Nathan S. Webster provides us with his thoughts on the new book by Elliot Ackerman entitled Green on Blue. Read "Elliot Ackerman Nails Afghan's Endless War", The Daily Beast, March 2, 2015.

The U.S. Air Force is trying to get rid of the A-10 Warthog but it is meeting resistance among critics who say the replacement  - the F-35 - is wholly inadequate to conduct close air support. Read more in "The Case for the Warthog", National Review, March 2, 2015.

Afghan Experience Wanted

The Afghan War News Blog and the Afghan War News website are constantly striving to keep its blog, daily newsletter, and website factual, current, and relevant. If you have a link to a website or document you feel should be shared with the greater community then please send it to us. In addition, we are looking for individuals with some knowledge, experience, and expertise in Afghanistan on a wide range of topics to contribute blog posts and articles to our blog and add content to our website. And naturally, if you see errors, outdated information, or broken links please let us know.

staff@afghanwarnews.info

Early Morning 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. Go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and submit your subscription request in the "Follow by Email" dialogue box at the top of the right hand column. The only info needed is your email. No personal data, forms to fill out, or passwords needed. It is also easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

Pop-Centric COIN: Protect the Population

"COIN is Population-Centric. The development of a proper COIN approach starts with the acceptance of the people as important to COIN operation." Counterinsurgency strategy should " . . . protect the population from insurgent violence; . . . " Page I-3, Joint Publication 3-24, Counterinsurgency, 22 November 2013.

"Security Sector Reform. SSR is primarily a means to strengthen the capabilities, capacity, and effectiveness of the HN security apparatus, which in turn improves the capabilities of the security forces to secure and protect the population from insurgent/terrorist violence." Page VIII-11, Joint Publication 3-24, Counterinsurgency, 22 November 2013.

www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp3_24.pdf

Stated at the top of the first page of the ISAF Commander's Counterinsurgency Guidance, signed by General McChrystal, are the words "Protecting the people is the mission".

www.nato.int/isaf/docu/official_texts/counterinsurgency_guidance.pdf

The Host Nation, Afghanistan, is conducting counterinsurgency operations to defeat the Taliban and other insurgent groups. The Resolute Support Mission, comprised of NATO and other countries, is engaged in Security Sector Reform (a U.S. doctrinal term) through its Train, Advise, and Assist (TAA) mission to help the Host Nation conduct its counterinsurgency war. So how is the COIN population-centric campaign going?

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has released its 2014 Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, dated February 2015. Afghan civilian deaths rose 25 percent in 2014. Below is a chart from the report depicting the continuing rise in Afghan civilian casualties in the war from January 2009 to December 2014. Based on the United Nations data it would appear that the "protect the population" component of the COIN population-centric campaign is not going so well.

The entire report can be read at the link below. It is an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

2014 Annual Report - Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict

The Resolute Support Headquarters Information Operations machine was hard at work in response to the UN report. See the RS HQs press release entitled UNAMA 2014 Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Report, February 18, 2015 at the link below.

www.rs.nato.int/article/rs-news/unama-2014-protection-of-civilians-in-armed-conflict-report.html

NATO RSM Mission - Facts and Figures

NATO has posted a document that provides the names of the Resolute Support leadership and key facts and figures on troop contributing nations. According to the chart over 40 nations are providing troops - From Albania to the United States. Some points of interest:

Macedonia is referred to as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". I guess that is so we don't offend the Greeks. Countries from as far away as New Zealand, Mongolia, and Australia are participating. The smallest contingent is Luxembourg (1) and other smaller contingents include Estonia (4), Greece (4), Iceland (4), and Ukraine (10).

The nations providing the highest number of troops are:

United States - 6,839
Georgia - 885
Germany - 850
Romania - 650
Turkey - 503
Italy - 500
United Kingdom - 430
Australia - 400

ISAF / RS General Officer Assignments

A number of general officers (with ties to ISAF or RS or SOF) have received new assignments according to a recent DoD news release (Feb 13, 2015).

MG Scott D. Berrier, currently the deputy chief of staff for Intelligence of the Resolute Support (and the Director of Essential Function 7 - Intelligence), will go to Fort Huachuca to be the commanding general/commandant for the Intel school and center.

MG Mark R. Quantock, deputy for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Virginia goes to be the deputy chief of staff for Intelligence, Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan; and will likely become the Director of EF7.

MG James B. Linder, currently commander of Special Operations Command Africa, heads to Fort Bragg to command the USAJFKSWCS which, among other things, conducts Special Forces training.

BG Donald C. Bolduc - with many Special Forces deployments to Afghanistan - has been selected to be the commander of Special Operations Command Africa. He is currently deputy director for operations at U.S. Africa Command headquartered in Germany. (Fayetteville Observer, Feb 22, 2015).

Video - Essential Function 5 Explained

Resolute Support Headquarters (RS HQ) has been rolling out an information campaign on the Eight Essential Functions or 8 EFs. The essential functions are a methodology for organizing the work of the Coalition in the mission of "train, advise, and assist" of the Afghan Security Institutions (ASIs) and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Part of this info campaign is a series of short videos on each of the essential functions. Thus far, the most entertaining video has been presented by Essential Function 5 - Sustain the Force. The director of EF 5 - a Mr. Pat Dulin - provides us with an entertaining 2-min video explaining the work that advisors do in the EF 5 area. This guy should sell used cars or perhaps vacuum cleaners! Or something as dry and boring as maintenance and logistics. Whoever said logistics couldn't be exciting!

https://vimeo.com/120277389

A-10 - A Deadly Attack Aircraft

The A-10 Warthog is considered one of the best close air support aircraft ever designed and flown in combat. A recent article ranks it as one of the 5 most deadly attack aircraft. The A-10 was the product of some inter-service rivalry - the Air Force didn't want the aircraft yet did not want the Army to take on the role of close air support. Even today, the Air Force plans to retire the A-10 to be able to fund the multi-role F-35 - an aircraft far from able to perform CAS (it's gun system carries only 105 rounds).  Read "Bombs Away: The 5 Most Deadly Attack Aircraft", The National Interest, January 28, 2015.

Women in ANSF - Western Values Imposed

One diplomat says "It's the absurdity of  imposing our liberal Western beliefs" when describing the insistence of ANSF recruitment of women into the security forces. Afghanistan is a culturally conservative country and some say that women's rights might have been an issue too far when transforming Afghanistan. Read more in "Afghan Policewomen Struggle Against Culture", The New York Times, March 2, 2015.

Paper - Defining RoL

Dr. Vivienne O'Connor of the International Network to Promote the Rule of Law has penned a practitioner's guide entitled "Defining the Rule of Law and Related Concepts". The document, published in February 2015, explores the topics of Rule of Law, Justice, Access to Justice, Human Rights, Human Security, and more. A good primer for those SFA Rule of Law Advisors working in Resolute Support Mission Essential Function 3 - RoL.

RS IO Machine at Odds with Reality

In the seminal 1230 report that is delivered to Congress every six months the status of the fight in Afghanistan is provided. This past 1230 report from October 2014 provided a favorable outlook on the situation in Afghanistan and the ability of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to defeat the Taliban. Except . . . most long-term observers of the conflict say otherwise. Read more in "Experts dispute upbeat views on Afghan fight", Stars and Stripes, February 19, 2015.

PEO Soldier Slide Show

The Program Executive Officer Soldier (PEO Soldier) provides the U.S. Army's Soldiers with the capabilities to ensure they remain decisive and dominant throughout the full spectrum of military operations. PEO Soldier manages more than 450 products and programs to provide the best equipment (weapons, sensors, individual equipment, radios, clothing, parachutes, etc.) to ensure the Soldiers can face present and future challenges. PEO Soldier has provided us with a 264 page slide presentation (Adobe Acrobat PDF) which depicts (pictures and text) the different types of equipment it manages. Very informative.

www.peosoldier.army.mil/portfolio/

DoD Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request

The Department of Defense's Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request was submitted to Congress recently. You can view the 28-slide rollout presentation at the link below. (Adobe Acrobat PDF). The second link will bring you to the DoD FY2016 Budget Fact Sheet (Adobe Acrobat PDF).

www.defense.gov/pubs/FY16_Budget_Request_Rollout_Final_2-2-15.pdf

www.defense.gov/pubs/DoD_Budget_FY2016_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Oversight for Aid Projects Diminishes

A few years back there were over 100,000 U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan. USAID could use these personnel scattered across hundreds of FOBs and COPs as a set of eyes to provide oversight over aid projects that were being implemented by various humanitarian organizations and contractors. However, in 2015 there are only 11,000 U.S. military personnel confined to a few relatively large bases (Herat, Mes-e Sharif, Bagram, Gamberi, and Kandahar) and oversight on aid projects is problematic. Alone with the diminished oversight is a likely growth in corruption and failed aid projects. Read more in "US agencies adjust to shifting landscape in Afghanistan", Stars and Stripes, February 14, 2015.

Musharraf: Pakistan Cultivated the Taliban

Former Pakistan president Musharraf admitted that Pakistan "cultivated" the Taliban amid fears that former president Karzai was under the influence of the Indian government. He saw the ISI support of the Taliban as a counter to the heavily Tajik-dominated Afghan government. With the recent election of President Ashraf Ghani he hopes that ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan can improve and that India's influence in Afghanistan will diminish. Read more in "Musharraf: Pakistan and India's backing for 'proxies' in Afghanistan must stop", The Guardian, February 13, 2015.

Gen Campbell Testimony before Senate (12 Feb 15)

General Campbell, commander of the Resolute Support Mission, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 12, 2015. You can watch the proceedings at the link below or download the official transcript. (The video is 2 hours and 27 minutes long).

Senate Armed Services Committee Testimony
www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/15-02-12-situation-in-afghanistan

Official Transcript of General Campbell Testimony
www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Campbell_02-12-15.pdf

Article - "The Narco-State of Afghanistan"

Najibullah Gulabzoi writes about the nexus between drug trafficking in Afghanistan and the country's national security in "The Narco-State of Afghanistan", The Diplomat, February 12, 2015.

http://thediplomat.com/2015/02/the-narco-state-of-afghanistan/

Updated Info for Afghan SIV Program

The U.S. Department of State has updated their website with information about the Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans who were employed by/on behalf of the U.S. Government. The webpage can be viewed at the link below.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/types/afghans-work-for-us.html

Foreign Detainees in Afghanistan

Although the United States tried it failed to get rid of all the foreign detainees held at the Bagram detention center before it was turned over to the Afghans. As a result the Afghans inherited six foreigners that the U.S. could not find country willing to take the prisoners. Read more in "The Other Guantanamo: What Should Afghanistan do with America's foreign detainees?", by Kate Clark of Afghanistan Analyst Network, March 2, 2015.

Afghan War News Snippets (March 2, 2015)

India plans on assisting Afghanistan in the development of Afghanistan's marble industry. The Centre for Development of Stones (CDOS), an Indian institution for development of stone industry in India will help local Afghan businesses in skill and capacity development in the stone cutting and polishing sector. Read more in "India to develop Afghan's marble industry", Business Standard, February 19, 2015.

The ANSF are conducting a big push in the Sangin district of Helmand province. According to press reports Sangin district is now "secure". Read more in "Afghan Troops Push Taliban from Key Southern District", ABC News, February 27, 2015.

The international organization Human Rights Watch wants the Afghan government to include women as part of the negotiation team that talks to the Taliban. Women advocates are fearful that negotiators will give away women's rights in the process of reaching an agreement with the Taliban during peace talks. Read more in "Afghanistan: Don't Leave Women Out of Peace Talks", Human Rights Watch, March 1, 2015.

Pakistan is requiring all cellphone users to register their fingerprints. Read more in "Will Pakistan's Cellphone Biometric Push Pay Counter-Terrorism Dividends?", The Diplomat, February 25, 2015.

The U.S. Department of Defense has recently published (Feb 26, 2015) an updated instruction on "Common Military Training (CMT)". View doc here.

The daughter of President Ghani is an accomplished artist living in Brooklyn, New York. Read more about her in "Mariam Ghani, a Brooklyn Artist Whose Father Leads Afghanistan", The New York Times, February 20, 2015.

The U.S. Department of Defense has recently published (Feb 25, 2015) an updated version of DoD Instruction 3305.15, DoD Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Training. View doc here.

A women, Sakena Yacoobi, writes on her efforts to educate not only Afghan girls but Afghan boys as well. She started the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) to educate young girls. Then young boys started asking if she could teach them too. Read more here - "In Afghanistan, teaching men that education is not a threat", The Christian Science Monitor, February 19, 2015.

Uzbekistan, which shares its southern border with Afghanistan, has some concerns in the growth of violence and deteriorating security situation in northern Afghanistan. See "Uzbekistan Nervously Watches ISIS Advance in Afghanistan", Silk Road Reporters, February 20, 2015.

An Afghan interpreter has finally made it to the United States - due in part to the persistent efforts of a SGM to get the State Department to do its job. Read more in "It took eight years, but Afghan interpreter for 28th Division team makes it to America", PennLive.com, February 19, 2015.

Matthieu Aikins, writing for Rolling Stone, informs us that drug trafficking in Afghanistan is bigger than ever - especially in Helmand province. Read more in "Afghanistan: The Making of a Narco State", Rolling Stone Magazine, February 20, 2015.

Uyghur Militants in China (and Afghanistan). Afghanistan is hoping that China can contribute to the security and stability of Afghanistan and provide investment in its economic sector. There is also hope that China can assist in negotiations with both the Taliban and with Pakistan. Read more in "Seeking China's Help in Taliban Negotiations, Afghanistan Cracks Down on Uyghur Militants", by Shannon Tiezzi - The Diplomat, February 21, 2015.

Romania continues to support the Coalition and Afghanistan with its participating in the Resolute Support Mission. ROU SOAG-1 will soon depart for Afghanistan for a six-month long advising mission. Read more in "Romanian Special Operations Group leaves for Afghanistan within the 'Resolute Support" NATO mission", Romanian Journal, February 20, 2015. (Note: the accompanying photo shows a fellow with a Green Beret with a green flash as part of the ceremonial party.)

The 43rd Georgian Infantry Battalion and U.S. Marines have started their Mission Rehearsal exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. The MRE is the final portion of a four-month long training evolution prior to Georgian deployment to Afghanistan to take part in the Resolute Support mission. Read more in "Exercise", DVIDS, February 12, 2015.

Polio Drops. Despite security concerns thousands of health workers fanned out across Afghanistan's eastern provinces to administer life-saving polio drops to nearly one million children under the age of five as part of a United Nations-backed health campaign. Read more in an UNAMA news update (Feb 22, 2015).

The Fort Campbell Courier does a profile piece (Feb 28, 2015) on Major Adisa King, the Operations Officer for 3rd Brigade Combat Team, currently deployed to Tactical Base Gamberi in Laghman province. The Rakkasans are advising the 201st ANA Corps.

A number of local uprisings against the Taliban have occurred over the last several years. Not enough to really make a difference (due to lack of ISAF interest and lack of support from GIRoA). Read a quick news report on the topic in "Afghan government supports popular uprisings against Taliban", Central Asia Online, Feb 26, 2015.

The Islamic State (IS) is steadily expanding its influence in Afghanistan. Although ISIL has not yet committed any attacks in Afghanistan, its attempt to expand its sphere of influence to Central and South Asia is alarming. Read more in "Militants of various stripes assemble under ISIL flag in northern Afghanistan", Central Asia Online, February 26, 2015.

A photographer visited Bagram Air Base (BAF) and took some photos of wall art at the airbase. Read more - "Inside Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield", Time.com, February 27, 2015.

DVIDS has a news release about a manpower analyst who works at BAF for the 455th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron.

Afghanistan has made an unprecedented series of goodwill actions towards Pakistan. Now Pakistan has to respond. Read more in "Afghanistan: The Ball is in Pakistan's Court", by Aziz Amin Ahmadzai in The Diplomat, February 27, 2015.

Explore Your Creativity

The Afghan War News Blog and the Afghan War News website are constantly striving to keep its blog, daily newsletter, and website factual, current, and relevant. If you have a link to a website or document you feel should be shared with the greater community then please send it to us. In addition, we are looking for individuals with some knowledge, experience, and expertise in Afghanistan on a wide range of topics to contribute blog posts and articles to our blog and add content to our website. And naturally, if you see errors, outdated information, or broken links please let us know.

staff@afghanwarnews.info

Afghan News Every Day

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A Return to Blogging!

My temporary break in blogging is over. I have returned from my short-term military training contract overseas. It was a good break from the routine, a great experience, and an excellent opportunity to learn more about Afghanistan. So now I am back to scouring the Internet for news, reading e-mail tips from acquaintances, and further refining my writing skills. AWN

Bamian Buddha Destruction - Anniversary

Fourteen years ago, on March 1, 2001 the Taliban began the destruction of the two famous Buddha statues at Bamian. Mullah Muhammad Omar, leader of the Afghan Taleban movement, ordered the destruction of all statues and non-Islamic shrines in late February 2001. Thomas Ruttig and Kate Clark of the Afghanistan Analyst Network (AAN) look back into history and share the story on how it happened. Read "An attempt to wipe out history": The destruction of the Bamian Buddha colossi in 2001", AAN, March 1, 2015.

Updated Resolute Support Bibliography (March 2015)

Afghan War News has posted an update of the "Resolute Support Annotated Bibliography" (March 2015) on its website. The bibliography is an Adobe Acrobat PDF with over 200 pages filled with links to websites, documents, and publications about the Resolute Support Mission, Security Force Assistance, Advising, and Afghanistan. It will be extremely helpful to the advisor and staff working at the corps, zone, institutional, or ministerial level in Afghanistan. It is also a good reference for those conducting research or pre-deployment training for Afghanistan. You can view or download the publication at the link below.

www.afghanwarnews.info/pubs/RSM-Bibliography.htm

A Resurgent Taliban in Badakhshan Province

The province of Badakhshan is seeing an increase in criminal and insurgent activity. This remote area located in the northeast of Afghanistan is mountainous and rural. It also serves as a major through way for narcotics trafficking to the Central Asian states. The Taliban in the northeast are a bit different than the Taliban in the south; some of their outlooks are less conservative. For instance, girls are allowed to attend school, beheadings are not common, and some members of the Taliban are former mujahideen of Uzbek or Tajik descent. This suggests a fragmentation of the Taliban resistance with a patchwork of forces with conflicting ideals and motivations. Read more in "As the U.S. mission winds down, Afghan insurgency grows more complex", by Sudarsan Raghavan - The Washington Post, February 12, 2015.

Iran - Influence in Afghanistan Growing

With the withdrawal of ISAF forces from Afghanistan the regional powers in the area are expanding their influence in Afghanistan. Principal among these regional powers are Pakistan, India, China, and Iran. Iran has benefited immensely from the "Global War on Terror" or GWOT waged by the United States and its allies over the past decade and more. The Sunni regime in Iraq was toppled as well as the Sunni Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Iran has quietly inserted itself into the affairs of both countries. Iran's influence is sure to expand even further in Afghanistan over the coming years. Read more in "Elephant in the Jirga: Iran's interests in Afghanistan - Analysis", Eurasia Review, February 11, 2015.

RS HQs Provides Perspective on ANSF

Resolute Support Headquarters has issued a news release on February 28, 2015 entitled Afghan National Defense and Security Forces Operational Update. The news release provides ". . . some perspective on aggregate Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) capabilities and performance". It provides some facts and figures of troop and police strength, news on current ANSF operations, the increased levels of violence, high ANSF casualties, attrition problems, recruitment efforts, and steps taken to alleviate the current problems associated with casualties, attrition, and the current capability gaps of the ANSF.