Afghan War Blog

Monday, April 6, 2015

Afghan War News Snippets (Mar 6, 2015)

Explosion in Kunduz City. The north of Afghanistan continues to experience growing unrest. Reports came in about an explosion in Kunduz on Sunday, April 5th.

Khost Suicide Attack by Haqqani Network. The National Directorate of Security (NDS) says that the Haqqani Network was involved in the deadly suicide attack that took place in Khost province. The bomber detonated his explosives among anti-corruption demonstrators. At least 20 people were killed and over 60 others injured in the attack. (Khaama Press, April 4, 2015).

High Peace Council Review Urged. A member of the executive board of the High Peace Council wants to see the government conduct a review of the organization's structure before serious peace talks with the Taliban commence. (Khaama Press, Apr 5, 2015).

Opinion - Speed Up Afghan Withdrawal. Doug Bandow, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, says that the "Administration Should Speed, Not Slow, Military Withdrawal From Afghanistan", The World Post, April 5, 2015. Doug says that the United States quickly accomplished its two main goals in Afghanistan early on - destroy al Qaeda and oust its Taliban hosts. The quagmire began in a half-hearted effort (the nation's leadership shifted its attention to Iraq) to nation-build in a country not quite ready for nation-building. He says it is time to leave and to let the Afghans sort things out by themselves.

Opinion - "Slow Motion Retreat" Bad for Afghanistan. Sean Parnell, an Army veteran of the Afghan conflict and book author, writes that our slow retreat from Afghanistan is placing that country's future in jeopardy and will erase hard-fought gains by the U.S. (The Washington Times, April 4, 2015).

Is Mullah Omar Dead or Alive? Speculation still abounds as to whether the 'leader' of the Taliban is dead or alive. The Taliban leadership recently released a biography of the leader. Read more in a news article by BBC News, August 5, 2015. See also a news report by Radio Free Europe, April 5, 2015.

Operation Freedom's Sentinel Award Criteria. The Army has spelled out the eligibility criteria for the award of the Global War on Terrorism Medals to Soldiers serving in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. See news report by Army Times (April 5, 2015).

A-29 Super Tucano Next Best Thing to an A-10. Rick Smith writing for The Motley Fool (an investment newsletter) cites the value of the A-29 soon to be given to Afghanistan as a close support aircraft. His article (April 5, 2015) provides us with the operational details of the A-29 as well as the likelihood of additional purchases of the aircraft for the Afghan Air Force beyond the initial 20 aircraft fielding to take place in 2016-2018.

Video - Profile of a RSM Police Advisor. Major Russell Waight, an AFPAK hand and advisor to the Ministry of Interior, talks about his career, being an Advisor, and working with the Afghan people. (4 minutes long).
www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153204572713454

Female War Journalists and Adrenaline. Read the story of a female photojournalist who keeps going back to the war. (The Guardian, April 5, 2015).

Women in the CIA. A recent rash of television shows have depicted women in the Central Intelligence Agency in a manner not totally consistent with real life. At least according to an Op-Ed by Maureen Dowd who recently interviewed several career CIA female employees about 'real life' in the CIA. According to some TV shows alcoholism and bed-hopping is a way of life for female CIA employees. Read "Good Riddance, Carrie Mathison", The New York Times, April 4, 2015.

Women in Special Forces - American Odyssey. This new show premiered on Sunday night (April 5th). It is interesting to note that it features a women Soldier of a Special Forces unit who is the sole survivor of her team that went in to enemy territory on a counterterrorism mission in Africa. She, according to one online review, is a member of a Female Engagement Team or FET. Hmmmm. I thought that the FETs were assigned to the Army and the Cultural Support Teams or CSTs were assigned to Special Forces teams. Looks like Hollywood knows something I don't. Evidently we are to suspend reality and push that "I Believe" button to swallow the story line presented by American Odyssey. Its great that the TV series attempts to portray women in the military in a positive light but sad that they can't shake Hollywood's concept of reality. The premiere showcased many of the left-wing causes - big, bad corporations, high-ranking military officers not caring of their Soldiers, drones are bad, hacking government computers is good (Snowden?), private military corporations are bad, and counterculture movements (Occupy?) are good. I am sure for the uninformed masses it is great entertainment - especially if you are a big-government conspiracy theory believer. It is too bad - as there was a lot of potential to highlight women of the FETs, CSTs, HTTs, and other like units in a positive light. Read a preview of the show by The Daily Beast, (April 5, 2015).

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Sunday, April 5, 2015

Article - COIN as False Narrative

In the aftermath of the counterinsurgency campaigns of Afghanistan and Iraq some observers are evaluating counterinsurgency as a strategy, doctrine, or concept. Many believe that the concept of counterinsurgency is sound while others discount its importance. Two members of the Kings' College in London have penned an article discounting the importance of COIN saying that "COIN is therefore a false narrative and should not be regarded as a formula for prescibing the principles of action to be used in future wars. COIN-centric readings of history, like all grand social science theorising, should be treated with scepticism". Read their thoughts in "The Strange Death of the Counter-insurgency Era", International Relations and Security Network (ISN), April 2, 2015.

Afghan News Snippets (Apr 5, 2015)

Combat Aviation Advisors. The 6th Special Operations Squadron is home to combat aviation advisors of the U.S. Air Force. Its' mission is Foreign Internal Defense (FID) and Combat Foreign Internal Defense (CFID). The combat advisors conduct assessments, provide training and advice and support to foreign aviation combat units across the world. These advisors are familiar with various types of foreign aircraft to include Russian Mi-17s, French A-332 Super Pumas, and others. The 6th SOS stood up in 1994 and is still a very small part of the Air Force despite the overwhelming demand for air advisors in Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa and other parts of the world. Read more in "A day in the life of Combat aviation advisors", Special-Ops.org, July 22, 2014.

MD-530 Helicopters. This coming Thursday the MoD will officially enter the new MD-530 helicopters into the Afghan Air Force (AAF). Six armed MD-530s arrived last month from the United States. Read more in a news article in Khaama Press (Apr 4, 2015).

Video - "Afghan Police and Army Spending". The NATO Channel presents a 4 minute long video detailing how the Resolute Support hqs is helping the ANSF and the Afghan Security Institutions (ASIs) with fiscal discipline. This includes advising them on facilities divestiture and fuel auditing.

https://youtu.be/I8vwmDwyqdw

Factsheet on U.S. Leadership in Landmine Clearance. On April 3, 2015 the U.S. Department of State published a Fact Sheet on "U.S. Global Leadership in Landmine Clearance and Conventional Weapons Destruction".

www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/04/240274.htm

Motorbike Mine Blast in Kunduz. 10 people (perhaps more) were injured early Saturday in a mine blast in northern Kunduz province. The explosion took place near the police headquarters. (Tolo News, Apr 4, 2015).

Blast in Baghlan Province. According to Pajhwok News five civilians were killed and 7 others wounded in a mine blast in Baghlan province.

Peace Talks - Who are the Players? NBC News provides us with background material for the peace talks that may (or may not) occur between the Afghan government, the Taliban and other parties. Read "Afghan Peace Talks with Taliban: Issues, Players and Challenges", April 4, 2015.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/afghan-peace-talks-n333801

Women in as "Operators" in Special Operations. Surveys conducted by special operations units indicate that there are big concerns about integrating women into some SOF positions. While there are a number of positions currently open to women in SOF units (support and staff) the "operator" positions are the ones that are currently closed. These positions require attendance at grueling and physically demanding qualification courses such as Special Forces training and then assignment to units that sometimes deploy as a small element in geographically remote and austere locations. Read more in "Special ops troops doubt women can do the job", AP Big Story, April 4, 2015.

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Saturday, April 4, 2015

SIGAR Sidelined?

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was replaced by Operation Freedom's Sentinel. The Department of Defense (DoD) has named a new Inspector General for the re-named operation in Afghanistan. The DoD maintains that this is a new contingency operation and therefore they need an IG. However, some in Congress are crying foul - saying this is an attempt to sideline the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). SIGAR has made enemies within the Pentagon with its very factual and hard-hitting reports about the waste involved in the billions of dollars spent on Afghan reconstruction and the corruption within the Afghan government, Afghan National Security Forces, and ministries. The Pentagon would love to get rid of SIGAR as they continue to receive a beating from that organization.

Defense Budget Leaves U.S. Vulnerable

A defense budget that concentrates the money on big-ticket, conventional warfare equipment and programs is taking resources away from the U.S. militarys ability to fight the most likely current and future threats. Expensive programs such as the F-35 fighter jet are a big part of the defense budget. However, today's and tomorrows conflicts will most likely be of a "hybrid nature". Our potential enemies in the world can't successfully take on the U.S. conventional forces (other than China or Russia). So the more likely course of action for these state and non-state actors is an unconventional approach (insurgency, terrorism, hybrid warfare, proxy warfare, political warfare, etc.). These non-conventional threats are represented by insurgents (Islamic State in Afghanistan and Iraq), terrorists (Somalis carrying out attacks in Kenya), and state-actors (Russia conducting "political warfare" or "proxy warfare" in the Ukraine). The United States has military organizations that are trained for the unconventional fight - and we need to resource these organizations at the appropriate level. Stuart Bradin, president and CEO of the Global SOF Foundation and a retired Army Special Forces colonel with over 30 years military service, provides us his thoughts on this topic in "Defense budget leaves US vulnerable to current, future threats", The Hill Congress Blog, April 1, 2015.

Afghan War News Snippets - (Apr 4, 2015)

Logar Landmine Kills 7 Civilians. Seven civilians were killed in a landmine explosion in Logar province on April 3rd. All of the dead were from the same family. They were traveling in a civilian vehicle from Kabul to Baraki Barak district of Logar province. (Khaama Press, Apr 3, 2015).

Hybrid Warfare in Europe Explained. Learn why some countries in Europe think that the use of the term "hybrid warfare" gives NATO and the U.S. a pass in confronting the danger posed by Russia. Of course, hybrid warfare is not a new concept - it is just the type of war that is fought unconventionally (such as the insurgency in Afghanistan). (War on the Rocks, April 3, 2015).

A Call for More Humanitarian Aid for Afghanistan. In a letter to the editor of The New York Times (April 3, 2015) David Miliband (former British foreign secretary and president of the International Rescue Committee) says that more humanitarian aid needs to be provided to community-based programs in Afghanistan (such as the National Solidarity Program).

Senator Worried on Afghan Withdrawal. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis recently visited Afghanistan. Following his trip the senator said that the U.S. military must remain in Afghanistan beyond President Obama's projected troop withdrawal in early 2017 to discourage prospects for the Islamic State militants to get a toehold there. The senator met with high-ranking U.S. generals as well as President Ghani. He stated that current counterterrorism efforts and advising Afghan forces gives U.S. leaders ground information about potential threats. North Carolina is the home of the USMC's Camp Lejeune and the Army's Fort Bragg. (Military Times, Apr 3, 2015).

OCP Uniforms Ready for Issue. The Army will soon start issuing combat uniforms in its new camouflage pattern to deploying Soldiers. The uniforms will also be available at military clothing sales stores in late summer or early fall. New gear matching the camouflage pattern will soon be issued as well. The new camouflage pattern is similar in appearance to Crye Precision's popular MultiCam.(Army Times, Apr 3, 2015).

Video - "Bridging the Civil Military Divide: The Role of the Media". The New America Foundation and the Yale Veterans Association presented this panel discussion about the civil - military divide. This 1 hour and 15 minute video features a number of panel participants to include Tom Ricks (war correspondent and author), Adrian Bonenberger (former Army and currently a journalist), and Kayla Williams (former Army and book author).
https://youtu.be/ZJF7nO9uAEM

Women's Rights - and Education. Despite Ashraf Ghani's pledges in the United States, Afghanistan still has a long way to go on women's rights. Read "Afghanistan's 'Separate but Equal' Education System", The Diplomat, April 2, 2015.

Fears of Abductions Grow. Recent abductions in northern Balkh and Sar-e-Pul provinces (as well as the ones that took place in Zabul and Ghazni) have put many citizens who travel on edge. Read more in "Increased Abductions Grow Fears of Citizens", Tolo News, April 2, 2015.

Afghan Cabinet Vote on Monday. The Afghan House of Representatives has scheduled a vote of confidence for approving or rejecting the 16 new candidates for the cabinet. The house is currently reviewing the academic documents, dual citizenship, and background of the candidates. (Khaama Press, Apr 3, 2015).

Date for Bergdahl Article 32. The Article 32 hearing for SGT Bowe Bergdahl is scheduled for July 8th at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Bergdahl was charge on March 25th with one count of desertion and one count of misbehavior before the enemy. General Mark Milley, the former commander of ISAF Joint Command (IJC), made the decision to charge Bergdahl. (Army Times, April 2, 2015).

ADT Member Talks about Developing Rapport. Deploying to Afghanistan is a cultural shock -especially if your job involves interacting with Afghans. There is the cultural differences and the language barrier. And lots of tea drinking. But sometimes a hot pepper can break the ice. Learn how eating a hot pepper helped a female member of an Agribusiness Development Team establish rapport in "One hot pepper equals three cups of tea", DVIDS, April 2, 2015.

Peace Talks. Under President Karzai - the United States and India played a leading role in trying to get peace talks under way with the Taliban. With President Ghani now in charge - the scene has changed - Pakistan and China are now leading the effort. China has a lot at stake here - a stable Afghanistan will be needed if China is to have ready access to the immense deposits of minerals (Mes Aynak copper mine) available in Afghanistan and can contribute to its vision of a "New Silk Road" connecting all of Central Asia to Europe and China. The wild card is Pakistan - will it stop supporting the Taliban? Read more in "Afghanistan Peace Talks: At a Geopolitical Crossroads", The Diplomat, April 2, 2015.

Mine Awareness Day - April 4, 2015. U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan - P. Michael McKinley - has published an Op-Ed in Khaama Press about how 80% of minefields from past conflicts have been cleared in Afghanistan. Since 1989 almost 600,000 mines of various types (anti-personnel, anti-tank, and explosive remnants of war) have been cleared.

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Friday, April 3, 2015

Report - World Bank Group in Afghanistan

The World Bank Group has issued a report (April 2015) on its activities in Afghanistan for development and emergency reconstruction projects. Some of the ongoing operations include the "Second Education Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP II)", "Afghanistan Skills Development Project", "Music Institute", "Afghanistan Financial Sector Rapid Response Project", "System Enhancement for Health Action in Transition (SEHAT) Program", "Afghanistan Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Sector Development Project", "Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000)", "Irrigation Restoration and Development Project (IRIP)", "Second Customs Reform and Trade Facilitation Project (SCRTFP)", and many more.

Raouf Zia, Abdul, 2015. The World Bank Group in Afghanistan: country update. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/04/24231016/world-bank-group-afghanistan-country-update

Afghan News Snippets (Apr 3, 2015)

Khost Suicide Blast Kills 16 or more. Reports say that a suicide attack against an anti-corruption protest killed at least 16 and wounded around 40 in Khost province. An MP from Khost province was wounded in the explosion. The acting governor of Khost has been accused of land-grabbing (a common practice in Afghanistan) and rampant corruption (also a common practice among government officials). Civilian casualties have jumped by 22% in 2014.

Hope and Obstacles in Afghanistan. President Ghani's recent trip to the United States secured continued funding and a pause in the U.S. troop withdrawal. His visit also inspired some hope that Afghanistan can turn the corner; yet having hope won't fix the many obstacles in Afghanistan's path. Much work has to be done. Read "Tentative Hope, Continued Obstacles After Leaders' U.S. Trip", by Farishta Jalazai, Gandhara Blog, April 2, 2015.

China's Fiber-Optic Silk Road. One of the overlooked benefits of China's "New Silk Road" initiative (which involved connecting China with Central Asia and Afghanistan with rail and road LOCs) is the building of a fiber-optic regional network. The fiber-optic cable (1/10th the cost of satellite usage) can be laid alongside rail lines. This will benefit Afghanistan as well. Read more in "A Fiber-Optic Silk Road", by Nadege Rolland, The Diplomat, April 2, 2015.

Video - AMC Perspective on Afghanistan Retrograde. General Dennis Via, commanding general of Army Materiel Command provides an AMC perspective during the 2015 Global Force Symposium. (Posted by US Army TRADOC on YouTube.com on April 1, 2015, 30 mins).

https://youtu.be/7QocyaEk5GE

SIGAR Questions USAID's PROMOTE Project. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is spending lots of money on the Promoting Gender Equity in National Priority Programs (Promote) project. This project is committed to provide support for Afghan women. However, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) office is concerned that USAID will not be able to effectively implement, monitor and assess the impact of Promote. Read a SIGAR letter (March 27, 2015) to USAID expressing its concerns and requesting additional information.

www.sigar.mil/pdf/special%20projects/SIGAR-15-44-SP.pdf

Expensive Wedding Cap. Afghan lawmakers have passed a law limiting the costs for weddings. The cap is now at $3,500. Over the past ten years the cost of weddings have grown significantly and become a huge social problem and a burden for families. The law caps the number of wedding guests to 500 and the cost per head at 400 afghanis (which is about $7 U.S.). (NBC News, April 1, 2015).

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Thursday, April 2, 2015

SIGAR Report on DoD Contracts for Afghanistan

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released a report looking at the Department of Defense's contracts for Afghanistan reconstruction funding. The report notes that DoD contracts for Afghanistan reconstruction comprised $21 billion (out of $66 billion appropriated to DoD) through the award of 18,962 contracts to 2,542 vendors. The Afghan Security Forces Fund (ASFF) accounted for $17.3 billion in contracts. The Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP) accounted for $795 million in contracts. The Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities Fund (DoD CN) accounted for $1.8 billion in contracts. The top recipient of DoD CN contracts was Academi Training Center (formerly known as Blackwater). You can read the full report on SIGAR's website at the link below.

Department of Defense Spending on Afghanistan Reconstruction: 2002 - May 2014, SIGAR, March 2015. http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/special%20projects/SIGAR-15-40-SP.pdf

Afghan War News Snippets (Apr 2, 2015)

Kabul Bank Case. President Ghani met with investigators of the Kabul Bank case as part of his commitments during his inauguration to finalize the country's largest corruption scandal. The Kabul Bank, once the country's largest institution, collapsed in 2010 due to corruption - much in part by the Karzai family.(Tolo News, 31 Mar 15).

Fighting in Helmand Gets Bloodier. The northern Helmand province area is seeing an upsurge in casualties as Afghan forces take the lead. (The Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2015, requires login).

10 Most Dangerous Countries in the World. Afghanistan made the list and is ranked fifth. Other countries include Nigeria, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine. (Radio Free Europe, April 1, 2015).

Taliban and Hezb-i-Islami Fight Each Other in Maidan Wardak. The Taliban and another insurgent group continue to fight each other in Wardak province. So there is a three-way fight going on there - The ANSF, Taliban, and Hezb-i-Islami. (Khaama Press, Apr 1, 2015).

11 Passengers Kidnapped Sari-e-Pul. Passengers were kidnapped in Sari Pul. Looks like this is an ongoing event at least once a week across Afghanistan.

Ghani. One writer says things are different with Afghanistan. He wants us to "Give Ghani a Chance". The RAND Blog, March 31, 2015.

Females & Ranger School. Six more women qualified to attend Ranger School by passing the March rotation of the Ranger Training Assessment Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. That brings the number of women qualified to attend the 60-day course to 12 total. (Army Times, April 1, 2015).

Turkmenistan-Afghan Border History. Do you ever wonder why Afghanistan's border with Turkmenistan looks so odd? Read "How the British and the Russians Drew the Afghan-Turkmen Border", by Akhilesh Pillalamarri, The Diplomat, March 31, 2015.

U.S. Vision for Central Asia. Antony J. Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State, addressed the Brookings Institute on March 31, 2015 and the topic was on Central Asia and how it relates to security in Afghanistan.

New Focus on Central Asia By U.S. Joshua Kurcera writes in The Bug Pit of Eurasia.net that Washington has rolled out a new Central Asia policy with a focus on counterterrorism. (April 1, 2015).

What's Next for Central Asia? Richard E. Hoagland, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the State Department, addressed a gathering at Georgetown University on March 30, 2015. Topic was Central Asia.

ISIL in Central Asia. Silk Road Reporters published a post by Joe Peerson on April 1, 2015 entitled "ISIL in Central Asia - Swiftly Becoming a Reality".

Blackwater and Afghan Drugs. An article in Fortress America says that the paramilitary firm "Blackwater Is Still Getting Rich Screwing Up Our War on Afghan Drugs". (March 31, 2015).

Relying on Pakistan. The Huffington Post has an article that says securing Afghanistan means relying on the Pakistani Army. (March 31, 2015).

Taliban Commander Captured. The NDA captured a senior Taliban commander who is involved in targeting foreigners in Kabul. (The Long War Journal, Mar 31, 2015).

IED Analysis Course. ANA soldiers have recently graduated from the "Improvised Explosive Device Analysis Course". The ten-day long course is intended to help the ANA students build on their existing intelligence analysis skills to assist them in countering IEDs. IEDs are the number one cause of casualties for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. Learn more about this IED course in "Afghans learn to analyze IED threat", RS News, April 1, 2015.

Customs Revenue Increases. The Ministry of Finance announced a four percent increase in government financial income in the first quarter of this year. (Khaama Press, April 1, 2015).

$400,000 Helmet. An infantryman's kevlar helmet costs a few hundred dollars but the helmet that an F-35 pilot wears is much more expensive. Read "Meet the most fascinating part of the F-35: The $400,000 helmet", The Washington Post, April 1, 2015.

Resistance to DCGS-A Persists. The Army's main intelligence gathering component, the Distributed Common Ground System, continues to face criticism among lawmakers and members of the military. The DCGS will eventually cost the military over $10 billion. (GCN, March 31, 2015).

Parliamentary Election Postponed? Second Vice-President Sarwar Danish revealed on Wednesday that the parliamentary election will be postponed and held in 2016. (Khaama Press, April 1, 2015).

More on Ghani. Dr. Harland K. Ullman writes about President Ghani in an article entitled "Winston Spencer Ghani", The Huffington Post Politics Blog, March 31, 2015.

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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Resolute Support Bibliography (April 2015)

Afghan War News has posted an update of the "Resolute Support Annotated Bibliography" (April 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

DoDIG Report on "Train, Advise, Assist, and Equip"

The Department of Defense Inspector General (Do DIG) office has issued a report about the Security Force Assistance mission in Afghanistan and Iraq. The reports overall objective was to provide DoD military commanders and other stakeholders responsible for Operation Inherent Resolve a summary of lessons learned gleaned from DoD IG assessment oversight of U.S. and Coalition "Train, Advise, Assist, and Equip" efforts during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. The DoD IG reviewed 30 assessment reports issued by the DoD IG between July 2008 and January 2015. These reports contained 342 observations related to U.S. and Coalition efforts to develop the national security forces of Iraq and Afghanistan. In this summary project the authors sought lessons learned that might apply to future contingency operations as well as to Operation Inherent Resolve. The report identifies five systemic challenge and problem areas, with related lessons learned.

Training and Equipping of Partner Nation Security Forces and Ministries
Advisory Assistance in Support of Partner Nation Security Forces and Ministries
Logistics Development and Sustainment
Accountability and Control of U.S.-Supplied Equipment
U.S. Contract Management

Summary of Lessons Learned - DoD IG Assessment Oversight of "Train, Advise, Assist, and Equip" Operations by U.S. and Coalition Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan
Report No. DODIG-2015-093
March 31, 2015

http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/documents/DODIG-2015-093.pdf

Article - What I Learned from ANSF

Carl Forsling, in an article about his time spent with a battalion of the Afghan Border Police (ABP), writes about what he learned from the Afghan security forces. In Everything I Really Need to Know I learned from Afghan Security Forces, Task & Purpose, March 31, 2015 he makes the following observations.

There is such a thing as too much planning
Risk is part of war
Speed and mobility can be force protection
Minimize logistical requirements
Aggressiveness can make up for a lack of skill
Don't be afraid to leave a subordinate in charge
Uneducated does not mean stupid
No better friend. No worse enemy
Always make time for tea

Afghan News Snippets (Apr 1, 2015)

Haqqani Network to Return to Home Base in Pakistan. Nearly 1 million civilians were forced from their homes in northwestern Pakistan as the result of a Pakistan military offensive over the past several months. These civilians are now able to return to their homes. Among those returning civilians will be thousands of Haqqani Network fighters who also fled their sanctuaries to avoid the fighting. Observers are contemplating how the return of the Haqqani Network to their home base will affect the recent thaw in Pakistan - Afghan relations. Read more in "Dangerous Afghan Taliban Network Prepares Return to Pakistan Sanctuary", Gandhara Blog, March 31, 2015.

Citizens Say Sar-e-Pul Districts Controlled by Taliban. Residents and local officials say that several districts of Sar-e-Pul province are on the verge of falling to the Taliban and other groups that oppose the central government. Reports indicated that some police in these districts have not been paid for four months. Read "Concerns Raised as Sar-e-Pul Districts on Verge of Collapse", Tolo News, March 30, 2015.

Afghans Demand Elected Mayors. Although the Afghan constitution has a provision requiring mayors to be elected in local elections - most of the mayors are appointed by the Ministry of Interior (MoI). Those appointments are generally made as a result of corruption, nepotism, or personal connections - less frequently are appointments based on qualifications or merit. Read more in an article entitled "Afghans Demand Elected Mayors", Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), March 31, 2015.

"Rare Moment of Hope". Jonah Blank, a senior political scientist at RAND Corporation and former U.S. official who handled Afghan issues, gives us his reasons for optimism when it comes to the future of Afghanistan under President Ghani's watch. Read "Give Ghani a Chance: Why this time is different", The RAND Blog, March 31, 2015.

Women in Peacekeeping. As peacekeeping has evolved to encompass a broader humanitarian approach, women have become increasingly part of the peacekeeping family. Women are now deployed in all areas of peacekeeping as members of police, military, and civilian entities. They are key in supporting the role of women in building peace and protecting women's rights. Learn more about women in peacekeeping from this online article by the United Nations.
www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/issues/women/womeninpk.shtml

DoDIG Report on GIRoA Controls over Contract Management. This Department of Defense Inspector General report found that the government of Afghanistan's Ministries of Defense and Interior did not have effective controls over the contract management process for U.S. direct assistance funding provided to sustain the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). The Ministry of Finance (MoF) was also found to be at fault. The report also found that ". . . CSTC-A did not hold the ministries accountable for not instituting the necessary controls over the contract management process and did not enforce the requirements within the commitment letters". The report recommends that CSTC-A use the ministerial advisory contract to place subject matter experts within the ministries to develop and increase the capacity of MoI and MoD to manage contracts appropriately. Read the report, DODIG-2015-082 dated February 26, 2015.
www.dodig.mil/pubs/report_summary.cfm?id=6269

ProPublica. An independent, non-profit newsroom that does investigative journalism in the public interest is looking for input on fraud and abuse of U.S. dollars in Afghanistan. ProPublica wants YOU to get involved. Read more at "Help ProPublica Investigate".

USASOC Video on "ARSOF Next". The United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) presents a 30-minute long video on what the future of Army Special Operations looks like. Key concepts include adaptability, autonomy, empathy, and expertise. Attributes of the Special Forces Soldier are discussed. Video posted on YouTube.com on March 31, 2015.
https://youtu.be/vC99Apc5ijc

AWG to Stay. The Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) will be staying on but at a reduced level. It will become part of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). AWG brings back lessons learned from around the globe and they had a big role in Afghanistan in advising in the field and providing lessons learned as well. Currently AWG is studying new threats and devising immediate materiel and doctrinal answers. (Defense News, March 31, 2015).

Afghan Women Mountain Climbers. Afghanistan has lots of high mountains. Anyone who has had the opportunity to fly over or drive through the Hindu Kush knows this for sure. As a former mountain climber / rock climber I was struck by the many climbing locations and often wondering if anyone had climbed this particular mountain or that rock face - ever. Mountain climbing in Afghanistan is not a very well developed sport and it certainly is not one where Afghan women participate. Yet there is a budding group of Afghan women who aim high. Ascend is an organization that helps Afghan women to become mountain climbers. Read more on this topic in "The Ascent of Afghan Women", by Sandra Caligaro for National Public Radio (NPR), March 31, 2015.

ATP 3-35. The U.S. Army has updated its deployment and redeployment doctrine. Check out Army Deployment and Redeployment (March 2015).
http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/atp3_35.pdf

Bergdahl Desertion. An article by Kate Brannen in The Cable Blog of Foreign Policy (March 30, 2015) says that "Bergdahl's Biggest Worry is Rare Misbehavior Before the Enemy Charge". This charge is far more serious than the desertion charge and carries a maximum punishment of life behind bars, a dishonorable discharge, a reduction in rank, and lost of thousands of dollars of pay and benefits that Bergdahl earned after joining the military. The charge isn't necessarily related to his time in captivity but rather from the time he walked off his remote outpost to when he was captured by the Taliban. He left his unit and his actions exposed men to danger who went searching for him over a period of months in very hostile areas of eastern Afghanistan.

Guest Writers Wanted

Newsletter at 5:00 am EST

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Interview with Mike Waltz on Afghanistan

James Rosen on "The Foxhole" of Fox News interviews Michael G. Waltz - a Special Forces officer with multiple tours in Afghanistan and also a former high-level employee of the Department of Defense. The interview is on the topics of Afghanistan, the Islamic Jihad, President Obama as the commander-in-chief, Pakistan offering sanctuary to insurgents, the distraction that Iraq caused in winning in Afghanistan, reliance on NATO as a central player in Afghanistan, and more. Waltz is a reserve component member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, served as special advisor to Vice President Cheney on South Asia and counterterrorism, and worked in the Department of Defense in the office responsible for counternarcotics in Afghanistan and South Asia. Waltz currently serves as a senior national security advisor with the New America Foundation. Waltz is also the author of the book Warrior Diplomat. Watch the 18-minute long interview with Mike Waltz.

Afghan Daily News Snippets (Mar 31, 2015)

Bergdahl Desertion. Members of Bergdahl's platoon are undercutting his defense. Bergdalh claims he left his remote outpost in Afghanistan to meet with higher level ranking officers about abuses within his unit. However, his platoon was due to redeploy back to FOB Sharana the next day - which was the largest base nearby with high level ranking officers. Bergdalh's defense attorney has a tough fight ahead of him. Read more in "Some in Bergdahl's platoon undercut his emerging defense", CNN News, March 29, 2015. A military judge writes on the defense team's tactics in "Did Bergdahl's Defense Team Reveal Its Strategy Too Soon?", Task & Purpose, March 30, 2015. Meanwhile the Republicans are using the prisoner swap to mount an attack on President Obama's foreign policy - criticizing the exchange of a deserter for five high-level Taliban commanders who were imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay - see "GOP puts Bergdahl swap on trial", The Hill Policy Blog, March 28, 2015.

Five Passengers Abducted. Tolo News reported (Mar 30, 2015) that five passengers were abducted in Balkh province by unknown gunmen. The incident took place in the Sholgara district on Monday.

IMU and ISIS. A group of Uzbeks in northern Afghanistan claiming to be from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) says it is pledging allegiance to the Islamic State extremist group. (Radio Free Europe, Mar 30, 2015).

Suicide Attack in Kabul. An attack kills 3 people and wounds a lawmaker and seven others. Some reports say that a member of parliament was the apparent target of the attack. (Gandhara Blog, Mar 30, 2015).

Power Shortage Due to Clashes. Fights between the ANSF and Taliban have cut off the main supply of power from the Kajaki power plant in Helmand to consumers in Helmand and Kandahar provinces. Clashes have made it difficult to repair the cut power lines. (Reuters, Mar 30, 2015). In addition, Kabul is still suffering from power shortages due to extreme winter conditions and avalanches.

Medical Lessons from Battlefield. The first responder sector is benefiting from medical lessons learned from the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Read more in "Lessons from the battlefield are transforming emergency medicine in huge ways", Business Insider, March 29, 2015.

Ghani and CFR. President Ghani, during his U.S. tour, spent time with the Council on Foreign Relations discussing the many challenges that lie ahead for Afghanistan. Hannah Gais, reports on the address by Ghani in her column "How Ashraf Ghani's Government Will Address Afghanistan's Endemic Problems", The Diplomat, March 30, 2015.

Arming Police Militias. Arming vigilantes in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to work alongside struggling police forces isn't a solution - it's a time bomb. Or at least so says Hassan Abbas and Nadia Gerspacher - the authors of a news article entitled "The Irregulars", Foreign Policy, March 30, 2015. I can't say I agree with the authors and it is very likely they don't have a clue about the Afghan Local Police.

Desert Warrior Course. The Army is starting up a new school in Texas called the Desert Warrior Course where Soldiers will learn combat tracking, night land navigation, medical skills, basic desert patrolling, hazardous desert wildlife (can you say snakes?), and other skills. The 20-day long course will be filling a gap in small-unit tactics that have gone neglected. The school will be modeled after previous desert training events (such as the desert training phrase - BTDT - that Ranger School used to offer back when it was really hard). The first Desert Warrior Course starts in June 2015. Read more in "Army to launch new desert school", Army Times, March 30, 2015.

SF Recruiting Video. It looks like U.S. Army Special Forces has released a new SF recruiting video in an attempt to get folks to volunteer for SF training. Shooting skills, parachuting, fast-roping and more! A one minute long video posted on the USASOC Facebook site.

Women in Balochistan Suffer. Just south of Afghanistan is Pakistan's largest province - Balochistan. Life is grim for women living there - honor killings, acid attacks, maternal mortality and illiteracy. Read more in "Shocking Conditions for Balochistan's Women", The Diplomat, March 29, 2015.

Upcoming Event on Pakistan. The Wilson Center will hold a presentation by Pakistani journalist and security specialist Zahid Hussain who will provide an evaluation of Pakistani's countermilitancy efforts since last December on April 2, 2015 from 3:00 - 4:30 pm. The event is titled "Pakistan's Intensified Countermilitancy Push: Real Deal or False Hope".

Guest Bloggers Invited

Afghan War News w/ Morning Coffee

Monday, March 30, 2015

Afghan News Snippets (Mar 30, 2015)

Light News Day! There wasn't much news on the Internet Sunday when I put this newsletter together. I suppose everyone is suffering from "news fatigue" on the topics of the Ghani-Abdullah visit to D.C., the Farkhunda murder, and ISIS in Afghanistan. There is lots of other stuff going on in the world capturing the headlines to include Iran nuclear talks, crashed German airliner, troubles in Yemen, and the ongoing conflict in Syria and Iraq. Of course, the weekends are usually relatively slow when it comes to news.

Then again, maybe I got scared of being on the computer most of the day after reading the newly released (2015) report by RAND Corporation entitled "A Review of Research on Problematic Internet Use and Well-being: With Recommendations for the U.S. Air Force". It seems that 6% of the Air Force personnel suffer from Problematic Internet Use or PIU.
http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR849.html

"Just as the Internet was becoming part of everyday life in the mid-1990s, mental health professionals started seeing patients who were so absorbed in their online activities that they were neglecting their important social relationships, their work responsibilities, and even their health."

More Afghan Tour of U.S. News. The U.S. State Department released a statement (through its Bureau of International Information Programs) on the recent President Ghani visit to the United States. Read "Afghanistan is moving forward, with help from its friends", Share America, March 27, 2015.
https://share.america.gov/afghanistan-is-moving-forward/

Abdullah Interview - BBC. CEO Abdullah is interviewed by BBC where he expressed optimism that his country was on the path towards self-reliance but noted that more must be done for continued strength. He discusses the need for continued international assistance, possibility of peace talks, threat from ISIS, women's rights, and more. Watch the four minute video. (4 mins).
www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32080321

Abdullah Interview - NPR. Dr. Abdullah is interviewed by National Public Radio (NPR). Some observations by the CEO: Karzai ruined the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship and it needed to be repaired; Ghani and Abdullah put aside their egos for the good of Afghanistan and formed the National Unity Government, it is good to leave the door open for peace talks with the Taliban, and more.

Ghani, U.S. Assistance, and Women's Rights. Catherine Powell, writing for the Development Channel Blog of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) hesitantly supports the modified departure of U.S. troops in Afghanistan as it will help Afghanistan to ensure women's rights are improved over the next several years. Read "Mr. Ghani Goes to Washington", March 27, 2015.

Graphics Showing US Public's Thoughts on Afghanistan. USA Today says that the percentage of Americans who think it was a mistake to enter Afghanistan has increased by 40 percentage points over the past 13 years. (March 29, 2015).

Foreign Fighters in Afghanistan (1980-1992). Dr. Avraham Sela presented a talk entitled "State, Society and Transnational Islamic Volunteer Fighters in Comparative Perspective: Palestine 1948 and Afghanistan (1980-92)" at the Center for Security Studies of of Georgetown. Read more on his talk in an article by Georgetown Security Studies Review (March 28, 2015).

Loose Nukes in Pakistan? An article in Eurasia Review says that Pakistan's nukes (between 90 to 120) are a lot safer than folks think. Read "Safety and Security of Pakistan's Nuclear Installations", (March 29, 2015).

Video - LTG Eikenberry and Dr. Ali Jalali. A 50-minute long video provides us with a presentation by former LTG Karl Eikenberry and Dr. Ali Jalali who talk about state-building in Afghanistan. Eikenberry did two tours in Afghanistan and was also an ambassador to Afghanistan. Dr. Jalali was born in Kabul and has been a U.S. citizen since 1987. He currently is a professor on Near East and South Asia studies at the Center for Strategic Studies of the U.S. National Defense University. (Posted by the United States Institute for Peace on YouTube.com, March 20, 2015, 50 minutes long).

https://youtu.be/JHoLD0aWYIk

Guest Bloggers Wanted

Afghan War News with your Morning Coffee

Sunday, March 29, 2015

History of Task Force Musketeer (France)

EC-665 Attack Helicopter - Tiger
(photo by Erwan de Cherisey)

Task Force Musketeer was the name of the French aviation task force in Afghanistan. French military forces have been involved in Afghanistan since 2001 and for most of that time the French ground forces were supported by French rotary wing aircraft of many different types. The French helicopters performed a wide variety of duties to include air support, MEDEVAC, personnel movement, resupply, convoy escort, and reconnaissance. Erwan de Cherisey is a guest writer for the Afghan War News Blog. He has wrote a detailed history of France's aviation support in Afghanistan entitled - Task Force Musketeer. Erwan de Cherisey has wrote numerous articles for many different publications about aviation, Afghanistan, defense and other topics. He holds a master's degree in contemporary history and travels to many conflict zones around the world to report on peacekeeping, stability, and security operations. Erwan will provide articles and book reviews to the Afghan War News Blog on an occasional basis and we are proud to have him on the writing team! Read more about Erwan de Cherisey.

View the online article about Task Force Musketeer.

Trains Connecting Afghanistan to . . . Everywhere

President Ghani of Afghanistan envisions ". . . a strategic railroad stretching from Central Asia to China, Europe and its neighbors that would allow Afghanistan to develop its untapped mineral resources." He sees Afghanistan as being a transit country connecting the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, and China by road and rail. Currently the railways in Afghanistan are extremely limited and government regulations and management of the railways is haphazard at best. Read more in "Afghanistan's Big Project: A Train to Europe", Newsweek, March 26, 2015.

Paper - Economics in COIN

It is estimated that the Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Department of State (DoS) combined spent over $100 billion in reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. The Commission on Wartime Contracting estimates that much of this money was lost due to fraud, waste and abuse. Employing economics in a stability situation such as Afghanistan always presents challenges. However, many problems in this field were the result of the lack of an overall unified strategy for economic reconstruction. This paper compares previously deployed economic development plans (WWII and Vietnam) to efforts undertaken in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read "Economics in Counterinsurgency Operations", by Hayes J. Weidman, IAS-004, March 2015. The paper is a special study published by the Simons Center for Interagency Cooperation.

http://thesimonscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IAS-004-March15.pdf

Paper - Russia, COIN, and Lessons (Not) Learned

A paper recently published (Dec 2014) entitled "Russian Organizational Learning in the Context of Afghanistan and Chechnya Counterinsurgencies" provides us with an examination of the Soviet Unions approach to counterinsurgency in Afghanistan (violently offensive mindset that alienated the populace they needed to succeed). The paper compares this approach in Afghanistan to the Russian counterinsurgency approach in Chechnya (essentially the same). The 47 page long paper seeks to understand why the lessons learned (or perhaps not learned) in the Afghan COIN environment were not implemented in the later counterinsurgency situation found in Chechnya. In addition, the author notes that the United States did not learn its counterinsurgency lessons in Vietnam and when presented with the counterinsurgent struggle in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. had to relearn those lessons. The author of this paper, MAJ Anthony M. Roh, wrote the paper as a student in the School of Advanced Military Studies at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The paper can be read online or downloaded at the link below on the Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL).

https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=763327