Afghan War Blog

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Security News

"Security will Improve". If GIRoA says it often and loud enough then it will happen. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) is stating that security will improve in a month. (Well, of course it will as the snow will begin accumulating in the mountain passes and the pace of the fighting season always slows in winter). According to GIRoA eight districts are being controlled by the Taliban. Ummm, . . . that number is really, really low. (Tolo News, Nov 11, 2015). I guess it depends on what you mean by control of the district.

Sangin District at Risk . . . Again. The never-ending fight for the control of Sangin district in Helmand province continues. 65 ANA soldiers defected to the Taliban with their weapons this past week. The provincial governor (PGov) recently blamed insecurity in the province on negligence by the ANA. (Pajhwok Afghan News, Nov 14, 2015).

Afghanistan Dangerous for Aid Workers. Afghanistan is considered the most dangerous country in the world for aid workers according to the Humanitarian Outcomes research group. (Yahoo! News, Nov 6, 2015).

October Deadliest Month. According to statistics offered by Tolo News October was the deadliest month so far this year based on figures from the MoD and MoI.

Taliban Hate that Afghanistan is a Better Place. Saad Mohseni says that Afghanistan is a better place since the fall of the Taliban regime. (The Wall Street Journal, Nov 12, 2015).

NRC Vehicle Damaged. A Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) vehicle was damaged by a roadside bomb in Jalalabad on Sunday, November 8th. Two local NRC staff members were in the vehicle but were not injured.

Cell Phone Coverage Interrupted in Helmand. For years the Taliban have dictated operating times or total shutdowns of cell phone services in various parts of Afghanistan. In some cases the cell phone companies were 'encouraged' to pay 'taxes' (we call that extortion) in order to continue to operate. Recent reports say that Roshan, MTN, AWCC and Eitisalat have been forced to shut down their mobile services in Helmand province.

Kundoz-Baghlan Highway Closed. The highway connecting Kabul with several provinces was closed for almost a week during daytime hours. Protesters have been erecting barricades. Read more in "Closure of Kundoz-Baghlan highway enters fifth day", Khaama Press, November 9, 2015.

Child Soldiers in Afghanistan. A great percentage of the Afghan population is under 18 years. There are reports that some of these children are serving in the Afghan National Police (ANP). Read more in "Child Soldiers: a tool to sustain power in the Afghan war", Khaama Press, November 14, 2015.

"Black on White Attacks". Colors play an important role in warfare. In 'mapology' depicting enemy forces in red and friendly forces in blue helped visualize the 'order of battle'. In Afghanistan green denotes the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) and blue Coalition forces. When we had the spike of insider attacks it was referred to as 'green on blue' events. When ANDSF attacked each other it was referred to as 'green on green'. Now when we see ISIS attacking the Taliban (as in recent clashes in Zabul and Nangarhar) we refer to them as 'black on white'. Guess it has something to do with the flags / banners.

Taliban Factional Fighting in Zabul. Rival Taliban factions have been duking it out in Zabul province. The fighting is currently concentrated in three remote districts of southern Zabul - Arghandab, Khak-e Afghan, and Dai Chopan. The breakaway Taliban faction is led by Mullah Mohammad Rasul and they are opposing the main Taliban faction headed by Akhtar Mohammad Mansur (who succeeded Mullah Omar). The Rasool faction is going by the name of High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate. Some reports indicate that Rasul's faction has been working with local supporters of the Islamic State. Deaths from the fighting are said to number in the high 80s. Read more in "Islamic State Joins Taliban Factional Fighting", Gandhara Blog / Radio Free Europe, November 9, 2015.

Mullah Mansoor Dadullah Killed? Some initial reports on Thursday indicated that the leader of the breakaway Taliban group based in Zabul was dead.

Police Rob Citizens during Highway Stops. The Afghan police who stop and check vehicles are often more concerned with extorting bribes than in heading off insurgent attacks. Read more in "Afghan Police Accused of Highway Abuses", Institute for War & Peace Reporting, November 2015.

Passengers Beheaded. Seven travelers who were abducted a few weeks back have been beheaded (although perhaps just their throats cut) - including three women and a young girl in Arghandab district, Zabul province. The Hazara hostages were killed by self-styled ISIS militants. A national level protest was held and demonstration outside the Afghan palace walls for the 'Zabul Seven'. Reports indicate that Mullah Mansur-led Taliban executed the eight ISIS militants on Sunday (8 Nov) who beheaded the seven Hazara's. (Afghanistan Analysts Network, Nov 12, 2015).

Information Operations (IO)

Why Include IO in the AWN Newsletter? In a counterinsurgency - which is what the Afghan government, Afghan security forces and coalition 'advisors' are engaged in - there are four main lines of effort that need resources, time, energy, money, and personnel: Security, Governance, Development and Information Operations. During our time in Vietnam the U.S. military hardly ever lost a tactical battle . . . yet we lost the war in the arena of public opinion. One just has to look at how the story on the U.S. air strike on the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) medical facility in Kunduz City has taken over the headlines (at the expense of more positive news - such as the ANDSF successful counterattack in retaking the city from the Taliban) to appreciate the power of the media in a conflict. So . . . in the interests of 'educating the counterinsurgent' engaged in the fight in Afghanistan various news articles and resources on IO are included within this newsletter and posted on the blog.

ISIS Winning the Narrative? Is the Islamic State beating the U.S. and other western nations in the 'Battle of the Internet"? One writer does not think so. Read "ISIS Is Not Winning the War of Ideas", The Atlantic, November 11, 2015.

Reviving the USIA? Do we need to bring back the United States Information Agency? One writer, Matthew Armstrong, says "No"! Read "No, We Do Not Need to Revive the U.S. Information Agency", War on the Rocks, November 12, 2015.

Social Media and Kidnapping. "Technological advances have transformed the dynamics of crime, including kidnapping and extortion." Social media has provided criminals and terrorists with a whole new pool of victims and sources of exploitable information. Read more in "Use of Social Media in Kidnapping and Extortion", KR Magazine, October 2, 2015.

ISIS Recruiting Online? How does ISIS acquire new recruits online and convince them to take action? See "How Terrorists recruit online (and how to stop it)", Brookings.edu, November 9, 2015.

Pentagon Tightening Up on Email Utility. Everyone who ever had an Army Knowledge Online (AKO) account can understand the pain of the Army's bureaucracy. Just when you thought the government couldn't make itself less efficient and less user-friendly we get the news that links will no longer be tolerated in emails. Read "Pentagon purges HTML from .mil emails", FCW, November 12, 2015.

Social Media Specialist wanted for Resolute Support HQs. Want to be a troll? Can you spin the truth? Do you enjoy following Twitter (follow me on @AfghanWarBlog). Feel like living on a postage stamp sized post in the middle of Kabul with thousands of other Europeans? Can you do better than these guys - https://twitter.com/ResoluteSupport? Apply at the link below:
www.jobs.af/afghanistan/41141/social-media-specialist

The Life of a Troll Magnet. The story of a Finnish investigative journalist who brought the wrath of the Russian social media troll army upon herself. "My Year as a Pro-Russia Troll Magnet", Kioski, November 9, 2015.

Afghan Interpreters Betrayed

Interpreters Betrayed. When American troops conducted combat operations in Afghanistan their link to the Afghan population was the Afghan interpreter. The past few years - in the time of the 'train, advise, and assist mission' - the American advisors link to the Afghan security forces is the Afghan interpreter. However, with the huge drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan many of the interpreter were soon unemployed and . . . even worse . . . subject to persecution by the Taliban. Many former interpreters hope to find safety in the countries of the Soldier they served with but there are some bureaucratic obstacles that stand in the way. Read more in "The Long, Slow Betrayal of America's Interpreters", War is Boring, November 9, 2015.

Some Help Available. The U.S. has expanded a special immigrant visa program - a provision in the 2016 defense authorization bill would further expand the number of SIVs for Afghan interpreters to 7,000 a year, up from 4,000. One organization, called No One Left Behind, is helping out the interpreters. Read more in "Some struggling Afghan, Iraqi interpreters get help from charity", Military Times, November 14, 2015. Visit www.nooneleft.org

Corruption

Update on Kabul Bank Scandal. It appears that common sense is prevailing - President Ghani has negated the land development agreement between 'bank swindler' Khalilullah Frozi (convicted and sentenced to 15 years) and the Ministry of Urban Development (MUD) for the creation of a "Smart City Township" in Kabul. One really has to wonder where the MUD was coming from - is corruption so ingrained in the Afghan government that MUD thought this was a good idea? Ummm, yes, it its. Read more in "Afghan President Calls off Business Deal With Banker Convicted of Fraud", The New York Times, November 7, 2015.

"King of Corruption" Launches Hamid Karzai Foundation. Because he didn't steal enough money already - you can never have two many villas in Dubai - former President Karzai has founded a welfare foundation to assist youth in the education sector and provide more opportunities both in the country and abroad. Read more in "Hamid Karzai Foundation Launched", Khaama Press, November 7, 2015.

Afghan War News Snippets

MEC Releases Statement on Foreign Assistance. The Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) released its Review of Selected Foreign-Assistance Programs implemented in Afghanistan. MEC examined a number of projects ranging from road construction to health care services and has formulated some recommendations for some best practices in implementing foreign aid programs. Read the news release by MEC, November 8, 2015. The full report can be read here.

NATO and Afghanistan - Pondering. The recent fall of Kunduz City and the Taliban resurgence across northern Afghanistan and Helmand province has NATO member nations concerned. Read more in "NATO ponders future of Afghan mission as fatigue, frustration mount", Reuters, November 8, 2015.

Medal of Honor Received by Army Captain. CPT Florent Groberg confronted a suicide bomber in Regional Command East in August 2012. Four Americans would die in the attack, but because of the CPT's brave actions, many were saved. (The Washington Post, Nov 12, 2015).

Black Widows Now at Bagram. Some F16s are now at Bagram Airfield with the intention of giving the Taliban some nightmares. Or at least that is what the Air Force Times headline says in a recent news report (November 9, 2015).

Afghanistan in 2015: A Survey of the Afghan People. This annual survey will be available on November 17th for download courtesy of The Asia Foundation. http://asiafoundation.org/afghansurvey/

Reaper Madness. Here's another 'anti-drone' news report regurgitating yet another 'anti-drone' report. No surprise here - "Reaper Madness: Obama's Whack-a-Mole Killing Machine", Counterpunch, November 9, 2015.

M9 - Useful, Vanity or Just More Convenient? A short article providing one man's perspective on the pistol carried by Soldiers. Some say it is not very useful and more of a vanity weapon. Others say it is more convenient on FOBs where everyone has to carry a weapon. It is certainly easier going to the dining facility with a pistol rather than the M16. For those folks advising the Afghan National Security Forces during the summer of 2012 it was a good force protection weapon inside buildings and during meetings in light of the insider attacks that were occurring. Read more in "Army Culture: The M9 as Vanity Weapon", Carryingthegun.com, August 20, 2014.

LT Hurst at Resolute Support HQs. One Soldier describes his job as providing ". . . everything from bullets to body armor". Read about the 'go-to guy' at RS HQs in Kabul. (Providence Journal, Nov 11, 2015).

Marine Describes Job & Life at RS HQs Camp. He works as an advisor to the Afghan Local Police Special Operations Advisory Group in developing ALP officers throughout the country. (Santa Clara Weekly, Nov 2015).

Former BG Advisor to 201st Corps Fired. LTG Ron Lewis, an aide to SecDef Carter was fired from his job on Thursday. Lewis had served (when a BG) as the principal advisor to the commander of 201st Corps in RC East (now TAAC-East). (Military Times, Nov 12, 2015).

Kinetic Strikes via UAVs. A writer, Scott N. Romaniuk, examines the use of drones for surveillance and targeting killings (TK) in CT and COIN environments. Read "Targeted Killings, Drones, and the Myth of Precision", Geopolitical Monitor, November 8, 2015.

War Story Afghanistan - A Canadian Documentary Series. Learn more about Canada's contribution to the fight in Central Asia. (Radio Canada International, November 8, 2015).

Heroin Crisis in the States. Afghanistan provides 90% of the opium needed to make heroin. A recent paper by RAND Corporation provides some info on the epidemic and what can be done in Afghanistan to stem the flow of drugs. Read "Opioid Rising: How to Stop the World's Growing Heroin Crisis", RAND Corporation, October 20, 2015.

Russia Assists in Diplomatic Training. The embassy of the Russian Federation in Kabul launched a scholarship programme for the diplomatic staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. Ten diplomats will attend a two-week long training program in Moscow the latter part of November. (Khaama Press, Nov 12, 2015).

Can Diplomacy Work? The anticipated drop in fighting expected with the winter season has prompted international and regional partners to once again encourage a revival of Afghan peace talks. Read more in "Afghanistan Stakeholders Push Diplomacy", Voice of America, November 13, 2015.

An Advisor in Kunar Province. An Army officer, Andrew Plucker, recounts his time as an advisor to an ANA brigade in a dangerous part of Afghanistan. Read "Two officers, two nations, one mission", USC News, November 11, 2015.

JCLIS. The Fall 2015 issue of the Journal of Culture, Language and International Security (JCLIS) is now available online. In this special issue the writers take a hard look at the DoD's Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture (LREC) program. Posted by the Institute for the Study of Culture and Language, Norwich University. http://iscl.norwich.edu/special-issue

Afghans Leaving? Thomas Ruttig of the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) has penned a piece detailing the ongoing departure of Afghans for Europe. Read "An 'Afghan Exodus': Facts, figures, trends", AAN, November 14, 2015.

AREU Paper on Kandahar Economy. The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit has published a paper (Nov 15) on the Kandahar economy since 9/11.

Lithuania May Up Troop Level. Currently the plan for Lithuania troop levels in 2017 is for 20 personnel. However, that may be raised to 50. They would work in the areas of logistics, communications, and staff in the Kabul area. Read more in "Lithuania to increase troops in Afghanistan", The Baltic Times, November 9, 2015.

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Sunday, November 8, 2015

Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter

Welcome to the Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter. Articles are posted every Sunday morning (5:00 am EST) or early afternoon Kabul time. In addition, all blog posts are are sent out via an emailed newsletter at the same time. We welcome comments, ideas for stories, contributions, and guest writers! Visit our website at www.afghanwarnews.info and follow us on Twitter at @AfghanWarBlog.

Commentary

RAND Paper on Security Cooperation. Christopher Paul (of RAND) has published a transcript entitled What Works Best When Conducting Security Cooperation?, CT-441, October 2015. The pub is the testimony presented before the House Armed Services Committee on October 21, 2015. Some important points outlined for the committee include aligning "with partner nation security forces' baseline capabilities and their ability to absorb training and technology", "relationships matter, and they can take time to establish", "characteristics or features of partners improve prospects for security cooperation success", and "consistency and sustainment are key".

Russia Revisits Afghanistan? Recent security reverses in Afghanistan, the resurgence of the Taliban, large swathes of terrain in northern Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban, and other factors have Central Asian states and Russia deeply concerned. Khyber Sarban explores this in depth in his article entitled "Russia in Afghanistan: Past as Prologue?", The Diplomat, November 4, 2015.

The 'Forever War'. Ann Jones, book writer, columnist, feminist, and former Afghan expat writes about the hopeless situation in Afghanistan in "Afghanistan 'After' the American War", Huffington Post Blog, November 5, 2015.

A Tale of Two Afghan Armies. Lemar Alexander Farhad examines the performance of the former Afghan Communist Army with today's Afghan National Army using two decisive incidents. The Battles of Jalalabad 1989 and Kunduz 2015 illustrate the comparative capabilities of the two Afghan armies. The author also explores the ANA's motivational belief system, what motivates them (nationalism vs. ethnic / tribal affiliation), and lack of will to fight. Read the report in Small Wars Journal, November 3, 2015.

What Should U.S. Do in Afghanistan? The decision by Obama to stop the flow of U.S. troops out of Afghanistan allowing them to continue the Counterterrorism and Train, Advise, and Assist mission at current troop levels is an important step to halting to slide into deepening instability in that country. However, that is not enough. More needs to be done on the political front. 1) improve the constitutional process and fix the problems generated by the NUG, 2) help reform the electoral processes, 3) help in building the relationship between the central government in Kabul and the re-emergence of sub-national power brokers, and 4) assist in the negotiations with the Taliban. At least, that is what Rebecca Zimmerman of the RAND Corporation thinks has to happen. Read her article in "Saving Afghanistan: More Than Just Troops", War on the Rocks, November 5, 2015.

Lessons from Afghanistan. Janine Davidson, a Senior Fellow for Defense Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, is interviewed about Iraq and Afghanistan. Read (or listen to the podcast) in "Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan: Facing Future Defense Challenges", Council on Foreign Relations, November 4, 2015.

Political Centralization in Afghanistan. Ahmad Murid Partaw writes about the costs of political centralization in Afghanistan and how the highly-centralized political system has deepened the country's problems. (Foreign Policy Journal, Nov 4, 2015).

Ashraf Haidari on US-Iran Nuclear Deal & Afghanistan. Haidari, a former high-level Afghan national security official, provides his view that the JCPOA is a win-win situation for the Middle East and believes that similar negotiation efforts concerning Afghanistan will be of great benefit in the future. Read "Afghanistan after the US-Iran nuclear deal", Observer Research Foundation (ORF), November 4, 2015.

The U.S. Military's Broke Personnel System. One need only look at how the U.S. Army and other services assigned personnel to work at the Afghan Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense as advisors to realize that the military's personnel system is very broke. Air Force Colonels were assigned as advisors to the MoD's Ground Force Command (GFC), Navy logistics officers to advise ANCOP kandaks, and a reserve logistics Navy officer (06) who specialized in computer software in her civilian occupation was assigned as the principal advisor to the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF). But the problem is much bigger than that and it is resulting in the loss of valuable people. Read more in "Can the U.S. Military Halt its Brain Drain?", The Atlantic, November 5, 2015.

Millennium Challenge (MC-02) - a Lesson in Red Teaming. Shortly after the invasion of Afghanistan and less than a year prior to the invasion of Iraq the U.S. military conducted one of the largest and most integrated military exercise ever - Millennium Challenge. The exercise was to be transformational - introducing concepts such as Effects Based Operations (EBO) and other advanced ways of thinking about military operations. The exercise was deemed a success or failure (depending on who you listened to). Read more in "Millennium Challenge: The Real Story of a Corrupted Military Exercise and Its Legacy", by Micah Zenko, War on the Rocks, November 5, 2015. On a related note, the Center for Strategic Leadership Newsletter (Carlisle Barracks, PA) has a number of articles about conflict simulation and wargaming.

Rumi Spice - Helping Out Afghan Farmers

A small group of Afghan War veterans attending school at Harvard University got together and formed an import company called Rumi Spice. The small firm imports saffron - a very expensive exotic spice grown in Afghanistan. The fair-trade business may well be a boon to Afghan farmers who will sometimes grow poppy for its high cash value. Ventures like these are what are needed to take Afghanistan out of its never-ending cycle of poverty and provide a more robust economic environment for young people that would otherwise be attracted to insurgent groups by ideology or pay. Read more in "A Lucrative Crop - It's Not Opium Poppies - May Help Afghanistan's Farmers", Take Part, November 3, 2015. Visit the website of Rumi Spice at: www.rumispice.com

Insecurity & Human Rights in Central Asia

Post-Kerry Visit Analysis. The Secretary of State's five-country tour of Central Asia was big news - just the fact that it happened. Central Asia has been getting a lot of attention from leaders of very important nations to include Japan, India, China and others - but thus far the U.S. has not had a very prominent presence. With the withdrawal from Afghanistan the U.S. focus on Central Asia has diminished. So has the U.S.'s mentioning of the State Department's New Silk Road Strategy (NSRS). So what was accomplished? Probably not much. Read more in "As Kerry Leaves, What's Next for U.S. in Central Asia?", The Bug Pit, Eurasia.net, November 4, 2015.

Central Asia's Human Dimension? Kerry's visit with the dictators of Central Asia begs the question - Why? The nations located north of Afghanistan have a poor reputation when it comes to human rights. The Secretary of State broke new ground when he 'diplomatically' used the words 'human dimension' in place of 'human rights'. Read more in "Lost in Central Asia's 'Human Dimension'", Freedom House, November 4, 2015.

John Kerry and Uzbekistan. The Secretary of State is visiting five Central Asian nations in an effort to bolster the U.S. image in those countries, gain support for U.S. initiatives in the area (New Silk Road), ask for continued support for the Afghan regime, and (in private) raise concerns about human rights. Read more in "John Kerry is Cautious on Human Rights During Uzbekistan Visit", The New York Times, November 1, 2015.

Turkmenistan's Afghan Policy. It's hard to be neutral in the midst of a war along your border. This is true with Turkmenistan as it looks in a southerly direction across its border. Read more in "Turkmenistan's Afghan Policy Revealed", Qishloq Ovozi Blog (Radio Free Europe), October 27, 2015.

Tajikistan Worried? - Not so Much. Analysts run the range of 'highly concerned' to 'not very' when it comes to evaluating the threat from Afghan insurgent groups crossing the border going north. Read "Tajikistan Brushes off Talk of Islamic State at the Border", Inside the Cocoon - Central Asia Today, November 6, 2015.

Traveling Along the Pamir Highway. High above the clouds in an area of the world where the borders of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and China meet is a stretch of mountains both beautiful and remote. Read more in "The Pamir Highway: Adventures on the border of Afghanistan", News.com.au, November 5, 2015.

Preparing for Chaos. The capture of Kunduz City by the Taliban sent Central Asia into the worry mode. 7,000 Afghan security force members fled to the airport to the south of the city when confronted with 500 Taliban fighters. So Central Asia has good reason to be concerned. Read more in "Central Asia Prepares for Chaos from Afghanistan", Silk Road Reporters, November 6, 2015.

Central Asia after Afghanistan. Jeffrey Mankoff writes on how the war in Afghanistan has been both a boon and curse for neighboring Central Asia. Read more in "The Integrate Game: Central Asia After Afghanistan", World Politics Review (WPR), November 3, 2015.

SOF News

Green Beret Officer Retires After Cleared of Wrongdoing. A decorated Special Forces officer who was investigated by the Army for whistleblowing to Congress about the government's broke hostage-recovery process has retired from the U.S. Army. His retirement was held up by the Army while an ill-advised months-long investigation ensued. The investigation, a warrant-less and inane act of bureaucracy, finally cleared LTC Jason Armerine of wrongdoing. Armerine and his 12-man Special Forces team linked up with Hamid Karzai in the fall of 2001, defeated a number of Taliban formations in the field, and entered Kandahar as liberators. Three members of the operational detachment were killed during this timeframe. Karzai later became President of Afghanistan. Read more in "Green Beret investigated for whistleblowing retires", Army Times, November 2015.

50 SF Soldiers Heading to Syria as Advisors - but "It's not Combat"! Some U.S. special operations troops are going to be coordinating local fighter movements with U.S.-led coalition efforts against Islamic State militants. They will assist local Syrian forces (Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen fighters) in tactics, operational planning, and logistics. They probably will assist in controlling air support as well. But this is not "combat". Hmmm. Red more in "White House: No Combat Missions for US Troops in Syria", Voice of America, November 2, 2015.

Drones Continue Advisory Mission in Syria. US officials remain adamant that the increase of operations and air support in Syria do not indicate a change in US policy. White House Press Secretary Josh Ernest was emphatic when he said our ". . . drones are serving in a non-combat role". Read more in "Drones in Syria 'Serving Strictly in an Advisory Role'", Duffel Blog, November 2, 2015.

Failed SF Training Program for Syrian Moderates Cost $2 Million per Trainee. While the price tag may be an exaggeration certainly the program was not a success. Read more in "Pentagon's failed Syria program cost $2 million per trainee", USA Today, November 5, 2015.

Retired SF LTC Comments on Syria Mission. In a guest commentary to The Denver Post, Mitch Utterback tells us the difference that 50 Green Berets on the ground in Syria can make. Read "Don't underestimate the power of U.S. special operations", November 2, 2015.

SF Working "Coffee Breath Close". An example of "advise and assist" going right can be found in the effort by SOCAfrica to reduce the threat from African warlord Joseph Kony. His force of 3,000 has been whittled down to about 200 hardcore fighters. Read more in "What the Syrian Train-and-Equip Effort Could Learn from US Ops in Africa", Defense One, November 2, 2015.

9th Commando Kandak Facility Under Construction. Versar, Inc. has received a $17 million construction contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to support construction projects in Afghanistan. (UPI, Nov 3, 2015).

7th SFGA Memorial Wall. On Friday, Nov 6th 7th SFGA had a groundbreaking for the 7th SFGA Memorial Wall. (Stars & Stripes, Nov 6, 2015).

General Votel Interview. The commander of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in Tampa, Florida is interviewed. (KSTP.com, Nov 1, 2015.

JSOU Reading Lists. The Joint Special Operations University Library has posted their "Professional Military Reading Lists" for 2016; including the USSOCOM Cdr's favorites. Also, see AWN's reading lists for Afghanistan.
http://jsou.libguides.com/readinglists
www.afghanwarnews.info/afghan-reading-list.htm

SOCOM Looks to Techno Future. The US Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida is always exploring new high tech ways of conducting special operations. Read more in "Socoms 'hackatohon' opens process of creating high-tech commando gear", The Tampa Tribune, November 4, 2015.

Cash Bonus for SOF NCOs. Special Forces Senior NCOs with a high DLPT score are now eligible for bonuses (CSRB) of up to $150K if they re-enlist from 24 to 73 months. Check out the pay graph with details at Military Times.

MSF Report on Hospital Attack. When SOF operators, supporting ANA SOF in the fight to retake Kunduz city, called in air support from an AC-130 on a hospital in Kunduz over 33 people were killed including many members of the medical staff of "Doctors Without Borders". MSF has published its Initial MSF Internal Review about the attack on the MSF Kunduz Trauma Center. http://kunduz.msf.org Meanwhile, The Daily Beast has published an article on the incident - "Pentagon MIA on Afghan Doctors Without Borders Hospital Attack", November 3, 2015. Read also "U.S. Airstrikes in Kunduz destroyed more than a hospital", The Washington Post, November 4, 2015.

Book Review - The Lion of Sabray. An illiterate former Mujahedeen leader helped a survivor of a four-man SEAL reconnaissance element chased down by the Taliban. Lone Survivor is a book about Marcus Luttrell - a SEAL assisted by an Afghan villager. The Lion of Sabray is the story of the villager that helped Luttrell. Read a review of the book in a news story posted on Hampton Roads.com, November 1, 2015.

Counterterrorism

CT - Rhetoric vs. Reality. Anthony H. Cordesman, of the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), provides us his thoughts on the difficulty of defining who is a terrorist and the conflict between defeating terrorism and observing human rights. He explores the relative ease in which a nation will declare itself against terrorism yet use non-state actors (terrorist groups) as proxies and tools to advance their national interests. He also suggests that institutions dealing with cooperation in dealing with terrorism focus largely on counterterrorism and not only dealing with the causes of terrorism. Read his paper Cooperation in Counterterrorism: Rhetoric vs. Reality, CSIS, October 20, 2015.

Hunter Killer - New Book. A retired Air Force drone pilot has penned a new book about drones. He was one of the original drone pilots and wrote the tactical manual for the predator and piloted drones from 2003 to 2012. Read more in "The Details of Drones, From a Pilot Who Flew Them", National Public Radio, November 5, 2015.

Toy UAV's Sold to Army. A Florida firm is under investigation for selling an inferior UAV - the Maveric Microdrone - to the Army at $240,000 per system. However, commercially available drones that are very similar are available on Amazon.com at a fraction of the price. Read "Drone Company Misled Military Into Buying UAVs That Were Basically Toys", War is Boring, November 6, 2015.

9th Annual Terrorism Conference. The Jamestown Foundation will host the Ninth Annual Terrorism Conference. The theme of this conference is "The War in Syria, Islamic State, and the Changing Landscape of Asymmetric Threats". Tuesday, December 8, 2015, Washington, D.C. View a comprehensive listing of security and defense conferences and exhibitions for the coming months at www.securityinfonet.com/Security_Conferences_and_Seminars.htm

Intelligence News

Corporate Espionage and Drones. Have you ever operated a Raven UAV? (See photo of Raven at left). You may have new job possibilities in after your hitch in the Army in corporate spying. In a look to the future one writer imagines small private drones flying by corporate headquarters capturing writing on whiteboards in corporate boardrooms recording secrets via camera. Far fetched? Read "The corporate espionage that flies below the radar", C4ISR & Networks, October 26, 2015.

Book Review - The Billion Dollar Spy. David E. Hoffman has penned a true story of cold war espionage and betrayal. His book is reviewed by Benjamin Wittes. Read the review in "A True Cold War Spy Thriller with Contemporary Relevance", Lawfare Blog, October 27, 2015.

British Officer to be Dep Dir of DoD Intel Agency. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has chosen Air Vice Marshal Sean Corbett of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) as a deputy director. Read more in a news report by The Atlantic Council, November 2, 2015.

Big Data Intelligence Symposium. On November 17-18, 2015 the Defense Strategies Institute will host a symposium for intelligence professions. http://dsigroup.org/big-data-symposium-registration/

AF Awards DCGS Training Contract. Aptima has been awarded a $12 million contract to develop a weapons trainer for the Air Forces's Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS). (C4ISR & Networks, Oct 30, 2015).

New 007 Movie - Spectre. Daniel Craig's fourth Bond film has been released. Should be an exciting movie for all those Intel geeks out there. However, indications are that Craig will do one more Bond film and then he is finished with the 007 character. There are many who wonder who can replace him. Some in the New England (USA) area have their favorite guy in mind. Read "7 Reasons Tom Brady should be the next James Bond", Patriots.com, November 6, 2015.

193 James Bond Gadgets. Great 15 min video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGCGWb6nt_c

NGA Has New Commercial GEOINT Strategy. "The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is targeting private industry's capabilities in imagery and big data analytics as part of a broader, new commercial strategy in the GEOINT field. (C4ISR & Networks, Oct 29, 2015).

Not So Intelligent. A Soldier attempted to enter Fort Bragg dressed as a suicide bomber, complete with a fake explosive vest (it's a Halloween thing I guess). Needless to say - it caused a bit of a stir at the entry gate. (Army Times, Nov 2, 2015).

OPM Breach, Security Clearances, and Jobs. The hack of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) by China has slowed hiring for jobs requiring a security clearance. The hack has had a negative effect on cleared recruiting across the industry. Read more in "Got a Clearance? Getting a Job Just Got Harder", Defense One, October 26, 2015.

Security News

Helicopter Movements for Daily Transport to Work. Life has changed in Kabul with the decreased number of foreign troops, aid workers, and other expats. Movement along the roads is restricted and frequenting restaurants by foreigners has dropped off significantly. The sounds of helicopters fills the air.

"After 14 years of war, of training the Afghan Army and the police, it has become too dangerous to drive the mile and a half from the airport to the embassy."

Read more in "Life Pulls Back in Afghan Capital, as Danger Rises and Troops Recede", The New York Times, November 3, 2015.

Fighting in Kunduz Continues. While Kunduz has dropped from the news the fighting still continues but on a smaller scale. Three Afghan Local Police were recently killed in a clash in Imam Sahib district of northern Kunduz province. (Pajhwok Afghan News, Nov 4, 2015).

Instability in Northern Afghanistan. Dan Lamothe writes about the evolving (and deteriorating) security situation in northern Afghanistan. Read "In northern Afghanistan, a mix of Taliban, foreign fighters, and soldiers spread thin", The Washington Post, November 4, 2015.

Farah Taliban Splinter Group. The Governor of Farah says that a segment of the Taliban have broken away to form a new group. The new leader of the group - Mullah Rasool - was governor of Nimroz province during the Taliban rule. (BBC, Nov 4, 2015).

Video - RS Update #7. Resolute Support HQs posted a video about IED training in Herat, passing of the colors at TAAC-South (7th ID) - BG Paul Bontrager heads home (after a job well done), and paper guns for training ANDSF. 5 mins long. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUODqglTrhQ&

DABS and MoD Agreement for Power Delivery. Da Afghanistan Bank (DABS) and the Ministry of Defense (MoD) signed a historic Power Delivery Power Purchase Agreement that will guarantee the MoD affordable electrical grid power. Read more in a Facebook post by RS HQs.
www.facebook.com/ISAF/posts/10153712900583454

Battle for Marjah - Again. A few years back the fight for the district of Marjah was supposed to be a turning point in the war for the U.S. U.S. forces - supported by other nations and in concert with Afghan security forces - were to kick the Taliban out of Marjah and reestablish governance. Didn't quite happen that way. And now the Taliban are threatening once again - currently (this week) beating up on the Afghan Local Police. The fight for Marjah was a bid deal - Learn more by watching a 90 minute long documentary by HBO (Sep 2011) entitled The Battle for Marjah.

Indian Helicopters for AAF? Afghanistan may soon be receiving four attack helicopters from India. The attack helicopters are of a Russian make and much more robust than the smaller MD-530s that the US is providing to Afghanistan. Read more in "Afghanistan turns to India for military helicopters, likely to rile Pakistan", Reuters, November 5, 2015.

Vikings Continue Their Stay. The Swedes intend to stay through to the end of 2016 keeping about 50 military personnel in Afghanistan. Their presence is mostly in the north at a military camp close to Mazar-e Sharif. Read more in "Continued Swedish presence in Afghanistan", Government Offices of Sweden, November 2015.

RPA Crash in Kabul Province. US Forces Afghanistan said that a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (most folks call the drones) crashed in the mountains of the Mosahi District in Kabul province on Wednesday (4 Nov 15). No one has claimed ownership of the RPA.

Woman Stoned to Death. A young woman was killed by the Taliban for refusing to live in an enforced marriage in Ghor province. The Taliban have ruled the village for three years and security forces are unable to wrest control of the village from the insurgents. (CNN, Nov 4, 2015).

Governance News

Corruption, Kabul Bank Fraud, and the NUG. I am convinced that corruption is ingrained into Afghan society and that it will take centuries to bring it to a manageable level. In an odd arrangement, one of the prime perpetrators of the Kabul Bank fraud is going to be in charge of a multi-million dollar project to build housing in Kabul. Tell me again why we should spend another dollar in Afghanistan? I keep forgetting. "Afghan Businessman Convicted in Kabul Bank Fraud Is Still Free to Make Money", The New York Times, November 4, 2015.

Oversight and Coordination Body (OCB) Hosted by MoF. The Afghan Ministry of Finance hosted the fifth meeting of the OCB on November 2. High ranking members of the Afghan government and Coalition attended to review progress on transparency, accountability, and affordability initiatives within the Afghan Security Institutions (ASIs). (DVIDS, Nov 3, 2015).

'Motley's Law' - Reviewed. A new film about a lawyer providing services to folks in Kabul is out. Read an account of this film in "Film Review: 'Motley's Law'", Variety, November 3, 2015.

The NUG and the Constitution. CEO Abdullah Abdullah says that the Loya Jirga will be responsible for amending the country's constitution. (Tolo News, Nov 4, 2015).

Weak Governance Hinders Security. President Ghani is all about eradicating corruption . . . but in doing so he neglects the delicate balance of the Afghan patronage network. As a result - his government has ground to a halt. Read more in "Weak Governance Bolsters the Taliban", by Shawn Snow, Small Wars Journal, November 6, 2015.

A Leaderless Country. The NUG is just not working out. Afghans want a government that functions and the current one is not quite there. Read more in "Afghans Searching for a Leader", by Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam, The World Post, November 6, 2015.

A Young Democracy in Peril. The Afghan government's leaders have failed the Afghan people. Read more in an editorial in "Protecting Young Democracy", Outlook Afghanistan, November 7, 2015.

New HPC Chief. Former Afghan Parliament Speaker and Vice President Younus Qanoni has been appointed as the chief of the Afghanistan High Peace Council (HPC).

Afghan War Widows. Being a woman in Afghanistan is hard enough. It is even more difficult if your husband has died and your means of financial survival is now gone. After decades of conflict many Afghan women struggle to survive on their own. War widows are supposed to receive a pension of 7,500 afghanis a month (about $120) but many do not due to an inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy. Read more in "Afghanistan's War Widows", Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2015.

Information Operations (IO)

To Tweet or Not to Tweet. In the war of online influence, the United States is gaining ground but is still hopelessly outmanned. One report says that the U.S. State Department doesn't have enough people to conduct tweeting operations against ISIS. State's social media propaganda machine consists of just 20 people working in the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC). Well, . . . I am doing my part @AfghanWarBlog . Read more in "Pentagon: State Doesn't Have Enough People Tweeting at ISIS", Defense One, October 22, 2015.

Russia and IO. The Russian regime is heavy into the manipulation of information and use of social media on the Internet to influence audiences. Read more in "The Trolls Who Came In From the Cold", Radio Free Europe, November 5, 2015.

Russia's Troll Army. To learn more about Russia's dominance on the digital battlefield read Everything you wanted to know about trolls but were afraid to ask, ShareAmerica, November 4, 2015.

Marginalizing the Islamic State Online. Jared Cohen explains how future insurgent groups will not only control physical terrain but also dominate pockets of the Internet. Many recruits, followers, and supporters make their first contact with IS and its ideology via the Internet. Read more in "Digital Counterinsurgency", Foreign Affairs, November / December 2015.

U.S. Army - a Band of Tweeters. The digital age may be interfering with the bonding of unit members in combat. Skype, email, social media is consuming the downtime of Soldiers in FOBs - where in the past Soldiers entertained themselves by interacting together as a group telling stories, joking, and engaging in sports during their time off. Read "From Army of One to Band of Tweeters", by John Spencer, The New York Times, November 5, 2015.

Air Force-Wide Facebook Outage Causes Panic and Confusion. A temporary outage of Facebook has put the United States Air Force into a state of crisis. The cause of the FB service is unknown but several theories have surfaced. Read more in "Panic, Chaos During Air Force-Wide Facebook Outage", Duffel Blog, November 6, 2015.

Reflective Belts and Winning Wars

"Past conflicts have had iconic symbols associated with them. For World War II, it is the flag raising on Iwo Jima. Vietnam has the UH-1 Huey helicopter." The symbol for the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) will (for some folks) be the yellow or orange reflective belt. The Army knows it as the "Belt, High Visibility" and it had its place at its very beginning - wearing it on post while running on roads during hours of darkness. But, unfortunately, it morphed into something much bigger. You know that things are out of whack when you can't get into a chow hall during daylight hours on a large FOB in Afghanistan without your reflective belt. In probably one of the most absurd regulations out there is the requirement by 10th Mountain Division prescribing different colored reflective belts based on rank. You can't make this stuff up! Read more in "The Reflective Belt: An Icon of The Global War on Terror", Task & Purpose, October 26, 2015.

Women Integration into Combat

Females in Field Artillery. A memorandum about the assignment of female Soldiers to MOS 13B (Cannon Crewmember) and 13D (FA ATDS Specialist) has been published (28 Oct 15) by the Secretary of the Army. The directive cited by the memo, Army Directive 2015-41, opens up over 19,000 positions to female Soldiers. The Army is hell-bent in fully integrating women into the combat arms and special operations fields. Presumably there are 19,000 women in the Army that have the strength to lift the heavy cannon shells (the M795 155mm round weighs 103 lbs) to load into the howitzer and artillery pieces. Read the memo outlining the opening up of the field artillery positions to women. www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/ad2015_41.pdf

New 'Gender Neutral' Latrines for Field. In an effort to fully-support the rush to gender neutrality and the full integration of women into combat formations the DoD is instituting new requirements for field training exercises. Pentagon officials have ". . . announced the acquisition of new gender neutral porta-potties specifically designed to only be used while a seated position." The new field latrines will ". . . not highlight or given and advantage to any specific gender." The new latrines, shortened from the standard 88-inch height to almost 50 inches will require (force) the occupant to sit in order to use the restroom. Senior officials insist that the new porta-potties will not result in lower standards and will reduce arguments over 'seat up or seat down'. Read more in "New"Gender Neutral" Latrines Will Require Troops to Sit While They Pee", Duffel Blog, October 27, 2015.

Military Must Evolve! Two female officers offer their perspective on how the military needs to evolve when it comes to gender integration. Read "The Dangerous Non-Evolution of the Military", by Kate Germano and Jeannette Haynie, Small Wars Journal, November 3, 2015.

10 Most Asinine Questions About Women in Military. An interesting perspective by M.B. posted on Havok Journal, Nov 4, 2015. If you are offended by females using graphic language pass this one by.

Army Ranger School Now Fully Integrated. Women are now officially integrated into the Army Ranger School. The first class with women as regular students started on Monday, November 2nd. Five women started the class and they failed out during the first week. 19 women started the Ranger Class last April and three graduated (after recycling a few times). Read more in a news report by Army Times, November 6, 2015.

Afghan War News Snippets

$43 Million Gas Station Built by DoD in Afghanistan. The Task Force for Stability and Business Operations (TFBSO) built a compressed natural gas (CNG) automobile filling station in Sheberghan, Afghanistan (capital city of Jowzjan province). A similar CNG station in Pakistan costs about $500 thousand. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) wants the DoD to explain the price differential - but DoD says they don't have an explanation. Hmmmm. Read the SIGAR report at the following link.
www.sigar.mil/pdf/special%20projects/SIGAR-16-2-SP.pdf

6 Costly Failures. Joe Perticone tells us about six very expensive projects that didn't quite work out in our efforts to rebuild Afghanistan. (Independent Journal, Nov 4, 2015).

Earthquake Update. Afghanistan was recently hit by a major earthquake - affecting Badakhshan, Nangarhar, Baghlan, and Kunar provinces. Read an update on the Afghanistan earthquake by Humanitarian Response on November 3, 2015. www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/node/113028. See report by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - "Concern mounts as winter sets in across quake-affected regions".

Louie Palu's Kandahar Journals. Photojournalist Louie Palu spent five years covering the war in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2010. A new documentary film entitled Kandahar Journals will premier in November 2015. Photos from the film are available for viewing here. (The Atlantic, Nov 3, 2015).

Tevor Coult's First into Sangin. A book detailing the story of a forgotten platoon and band of men who were the first British Soldiers to occupy 'the House' in Sangin District at the start of the Herrick Campaign. Read a PR release on the book here.

A "Fobbit" Writes about Life on a FOB. Some Soldiers experienced combat on a daily basis in Afghansitan; some 'not so much'. Read "How Forward Operating Bases Created the Illusion of War in Iraq and Afghanistan", The Angry Staff Officer, November 3, 2015.

Solar Power & Afghan Electricity Crisis. Some folks are saying that solar power in Afghanistan can help rescue the economic crisis and electric power shortage. Read more in "Can Solar Power Make Light Work of Afghanistan's Electricity Crisis?", Equal Times, November 5, 2015.

Cdr at Kerala Massacre Arrested. Dutch authorities have arrested the commander of an elite government (444) Army unit of the Afghan communist regime that committed a horrendous massacre of Afghan civilians in Kunar province in April 1979 (over 36 years ago). Read more in a report by the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN).

Iran, Afghan Refugees, and Syria. Iran, with the aim of helping its ally - the Syrian regime - is sending Afghan refugees to fight in the conflict. Read more in "Afghan refugees in Iran being sent to fight and die for Assad in Syria", The Guardian, November 5, 2015.

Finland Reviews Afghan Asylum Claims. Finland has announced that it has suspended its decision-making process for Afghan Asylum claims due to an ongoing assessment of the security situation in the country. (Reuters, Nov 4, 2015).

German Interpreter Tells his Story. An interpreter worked for the German military in Afghanistan until the Taliban threatened his life. He managed to leave for Germany but his family had to stay behind. Read "Afghan interpreter torn between worlds", Deutsche Welle, November 5, 2015.

Deployed Troops and Beer Drinking. Times have changed and so has the Army. Women in combat units, gays allowed to serve openly, and . . . sadly . . . long tours in a combat zone with no beer. It wasn't always that way and some of the older contractors serving on bases like Bagram probably remember finer days when "Soldiers Worked Hard and Played Hard". I, for one, am disappointed in the senior leadership of today's Army in regards to the non-drinking policy. I am not the only one - Jim Webb, Vietnam Vet and one-time candidate for President, has chided the U.S. military on its non-drinking policy. Read more about the good old days in "Flat Tops: Canned Beer and Vietnam", War on the Rocks, October 30, 2015.

MREs to Get Better? The Meal Ready to Eat or MRE (sometimes called Meals Rarely Edible) has been around for over 35 years. The next generation of meals is being developed at the Natick Research Center outside of Boston, Massachusetts (presumably there are smart people in the Boston area who have superior culinary abilities). Pizza is on the way! (10 News Tampa Bay, Nov 2, 2015).

Buying More Counterfire Radars. The Army is buying more AN/TPQ-53 counterfire target acquisition radars from Lockheed Martin. (C4ISR & Networks, Oct 26, 2015).

Contractor Firms Benefit from Decision to Stay. President Obama's recent decision to keep the level of troops constant for the new year or two will certainly benefit contracting firms. (AllGov, Nov 2, 2015).

Canadian Defence Minister Afghan Vet. The new Defence Minister has Afghan war time experience and brings a cultural twist to the position. Read "New Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan proved mettle in Afghanistan", The Globe and Mail, November 5, 2015.

Family Planning. Clerics face death threats for promoting family planning in a country where one in 50 women dies of causes related to pregnancy. Read more "Condoms and conflict: imams defy Taliban to spread contraception", The Guardian, November 4, 2015.

"Cabal of Corruption at Bagram Air Base". A story of drugs, prostitutes, and illegal activities provides a side of Bagram that many never see. Learn more about the underground life at BAF. (Courthouse News Service, 3 Nov 2015).

"Black Widows" Arrive at Bagram. Airmen of the 421st Fighter Squadron (F-16s) have arrived at Bagram Airfield to support Operation Freedom's Sentinel and NATO's Resolute Support mission. Upon completion of this deployment the squadron will shift to the new J-35 jet aircraft. Ouch! (U.S. Air Force, Nov 2, 2015).

Advising - It's a Cultural Thing. A senior intelligence officer and air intelligence advisor for the 438th Expeditionary Advisory Group relates his experiences to us during his time from October 2013 to December 2014 working as a air advisor to the Afghan Air Force (AAF). Read (and listen) to Lt. Col. James Fielder in "Cultural Gaps Cause Problems in U.S.-Afghan Military Ops", Iowa Public Radio, November 3, 2015.

AAF Lacking C-130 Flight Engineers. It takes more than 18 months to train up a C-130 flight engineer. Currently the AAF has four C-130s but only one flight engineer. Looks like we put the cart (airplanes) before the horse (personnel). Read more in "Lack of trained staff means long hours for Afghan air force engineer", Reuters, November 4, 2015.

Drug War in Afghanistan. The State Department is still without a new plan to fight drug trafficking in Afghanistan. Although successfully combating opium could be a key to victory in Afghanistan the U.S. is still without a strategy.(U.S. News & World Report, Oct 27, 2015).

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Sunday, November 1, 2015

Afghan Local Police (ALP)

ALP and SIGAR Report. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has published a report entitled Afghan Local Police: A Critical Rural Security Initiative Lacks Adequate Logistics Support, Oversight, and Direction, SIGAR 16-3 Audit Report, October 2015. The report cites a number of factors that limit the effectiveness of the ALP and provides several recommendations to improve the capability of the ALP.www.sigar.mil/pdf/audits/SIGAR-16-3-AR.pdf

Profile of a Strongman. The Afghan government is considering the expansion of the Afghan Local Police or ALP to counter the resurgent Taliban. While the ALP provides security in areas where the Afghan National Police are weak and the Afghan National Army is scarce; the ALP also comes with some baggage. Local warlords sometimes co-opt these local police forces and use them for their own purposes. Read more - "In Afghanistan, a strongman rises in battle against a resurgent Taliban", Stars & Stripes, October 29, 2015. Warlords in Afghanistan are considered by many to be a huge problem - but some see they as a source of stability where government rule is ineffective or not yet established. One author believes that areas under the control of a warlord are not exactly 'ungoverned space' (Defense One, Oct 29, 2015).

Former Kandahar PRT Member & ALP. A former political director of the Kandarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team, Abdullah Sharif, thinks expanding the ALP is a bad idea. Read "Afghan Security Woes Continue Unabated", The Huffington Post, October 29, 2015.

Report - CRS on Afghanistan

Kenneth Katzman, a specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs, has authored a report for the Congressional Research Service entitled Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, dated October 15, 2015. The report is full of information, tables, maps, footnotes about Afghan governance, security, human rights, the Taliban, Resolute Support mission, Afghan security forces, Rule of Law, neighboring countries, foreign aid, economic development, and more. This 80-page report is available at the following link at the Homeland Security Digital Library. www.hsdl.org/?view&did=788068

SIGAR - Quarterly Report on Afghanistan

The Quarterly Report to the United States Congress by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has been published. The 256-page report dated 30 October 2015 covers a variety of topics about Afghanistan in great detail and provides a more realistic account of the current security, development, economic, status of funds, and political situation in Afghanistan than most other government and military reports. Part of the report is an extensive interview with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. There are also numerous appendices on a variety of issues and topics as well as many endnotes and a glossary.
www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2015-10-30qr.pdf

Al Qaeda in Afghanistan

A large al-Qaeda training camp was recently destroyed in southern Afghanistan. The multi-day operation involved over 200 U.S. special operations forces and 63 airstrikes. The camp was used by AQIS - an acronym for al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. The group's existence was announced last year (2014) by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zahwahiri. The group is based in Pakistan and focused on India, Pakistan and other nations in southern Asia. The existence of the al-Qaeda camps in southern Afghanistan was a surprise to the Resolute Support intelligence organizations - as AQ is normally based in eastern Afghanistan. Read more in "Probably the largest al-Qaeda training camp ever destroyed in Afghanistan", The Washington Post, October 30, 2015.

SOF News

SOJTF-A to Expand? The Afghan Local Police (ALP) was a program started by U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan to provide security and stability in key districts. SOF Marines and Navy SEALs also took part. The number of ALP was capped at 30,000 and with the withdrawal U.S. SOF was pulled off the district level local police. Now the Afghan government, facing a resurgent Taliban is looking at increasing the ALP to 45,000 (with U.S. funding of course). Will we see U.S. SOF once again committed to the ALP in the form of train, advise and assist? Hmmmm.

New SOCCENT Commander. Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) has a new commander. MG Michael Nagata has passed command to MG Darsie Rogers. Rogers is the former commander of U.S. Army Special Forces Command and has extensive experience in 10th Special Forces Group. 10th Group has spent lots of time in Iraq over the past few decades (starting with Desert Storm and Provide Comfort). 10th SFGA is known to be "Kurd friendly" so don't be surprised to find SOCCENT spending more time training up the Kurds in Iraq and Syria. Read "Special Operations Command Central welcomes new commander", Army.mil, October 29, 2015.

SF Now In Syria. This past Friday (Oct 30, 2015) President Obama announced that approximately 50 Special Forces personnel will deploy to northeastern Syria to advise and assist local forces fighting the Islamic State. A White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, says that the SF dudes won't have a combat mission. Seriously? Is he being earnest when he says that? Read more in "Obama Sends Special Operations Forces to Help Fight ISIS in Syria", The New York Times, October 30, 2015. See also "Analysts: US Special Forces Operators in Syria Not a Cure", Defense News, October 31, 2015.