Afghan War Blog

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Commentary

Reasons Not to Use Local Proxies. Joshua Foust argues against the use of local proxies by the United States in advancing U.S. national interests - as in the training, equipping, and advising the Iraqi and Afghan security forces. Can't say I agree with him. My thoughts are that we were (and are) less than successful in the 'use of proxies' not because of a bad strategy or policy but because of 1) poor execution - bureaucratic processes, poor selection and training of advisors, etc. and 2) a lack of political will to hold our 'proxies' leadership accountable - as in Malaki in Iraq (Shia Sunni divide) and Karzai in Afghanistan (corruption and nepotism). Read more in "The Local Proxy Problem", Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), November 22, 2015.

Kabul's Street Politics. The recent kidnapping and beheading of Hazara civilians taken off a bus in Zabul sparked massive street protests in Kabul. Some observers look at this as a new development - where Afghans take to the streets to advocate for issues. Read more in "Kabul's New Street Politics", Foreign Affairs, by Robert D. Crews, November 26, 2015.

Stability Operations in 21st Century. An article by Steven A. Zyck and Robert Muggah looks at the relationship between security and development in stabilization environments in their article "Preparing Stabilisation for 21st Century Security Challenges", Stability: International Journal of Security & Development, November 2015.

Security Assistance & Importance of Governance. Two critics look at the failures of U.S. security assistance and cooperation programs (Africa, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan) and provide their thoughts. Read "Ignoring Governance Puts Military Aid in Peril", Security Assistance Monitor, November 19, 2015.

Optimism Ending in Afghanistan. "Fifty-seven percent of Afghans say their country is heading in the wrong direction, the most pessimistic view recorded in 10 years of the Asia Foundation's annual survey of Afghan's attitudes. Unemployment and insecurity are the main causes for a sharp fall this year in public optimism . . . " Read more in "In Afghanistan, and End to Optimism?", by Gopal Ratnam, United States Institute of Peace (USIP), November 20, 2015.

Frustrated Afghans are Leaving. New public opinion data shows the governance shortcomings of Afghanistan's National Unity Government and the countries citizens are frustrated and opting for a better life outside of Afghanistan. Read "Why Afghanistan's Citizens Are Frustrated . . . And Leaving", The Diplomat, November 24, 2015.

Paper on Authoritarian COIN. David H. Ucko, an associate professor at the College of International Security Affairs (CISA), National Defense University, and an adjunct research fellow at the Department of War Studies, King's College London, has wrote a paper entitled "'The People are Revolting': An Anatomy of Authoritarian Counterinsurgency", The Journal of Strategic Studies, November 2015.

Will Taliban Fragment? The Taleban movement has entered its third decade and has held up as an organization. While there have been rifts within the organization - especially after the announcement of the death of Mullah Omar - they do not pose a great threat to the insurgent organization. Read more in "Toward Fragmentation? Mapping the post-Omar Taleban", by Borhan Osman, Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), November 24, 2015.

India - Afghanistan Relations? "Recent developments in the India-Afghanistan bilateral relationship suggests a major shift may be afoot." President Ghani got off to a rough start with his attempt to open a dialogue with Pakistan on security issues and to restart the peace process. This temporary situation was finally reversed when Ghani found Pakistan less than sincere. Now the move to India is back on - but with a 'lost year' to make up for. Read more in "A Turning Point in Afghanistan-India Relations?", by Ankit Panda, The Diplomat, November 24, 2015.

Understanding Motives in Afghan Drug Trade. In a lengthy article, Mathilde Simon helps us understand the evolution of the drug trade in Afghanistan and Afghan farmers' decision to grow opium poppies. Once this is understood - efforts can be devised to provide alternatives to Afghan farmers. Read "The Drug Trade in Afghanistan: Understanding Motives Behind Farmers' Decision to Cultivate Opium Poppies", Foreign Policy Journal, November 27, 2015.

More on India and Afghanistan. Read "What is the State of Afghanistan's Relationship with India?", The Diplomat, November 25, 2015.

UK SDSR 2015. The Brits have released the Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) 2015. Read some comments. (Think Defence, November 2015). See also a report by USNI.org, November 23, 2015.

Origins of the Durand Line. This border, negotiated in an agreement between the Emirate of Afghanistan and British India, divides the Pashtun tribal regions. Pasthunistan, as this area is informally known, also resulted in the loss of Baluchistan to British India - depriving Afghanistan of its historic access to the Arabian Sea. The Durand Line has been a source of conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan to the present day and is an issue that remains unsettled to this day. Read more in "Afghanistan and Pakistan: The Poisoned Legacy of the Durand Line", by Joseph V. Micallef, The World Post, November 21, 2015.

ISIS in Afghanistan

ISIS in Afghanistan. It has been less than two years when the Islamic State (call it ISIS, ISIL, whatever) took control of parts of Iraq and Syria in quick fashion. Since then the groups influence has spread to other parts of the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, ISIS is gaining a foothold in Afghanistan as well. Three experts comment on ISIS in Afghanistan. James Cunningham (U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2012 to late 2014), Anand Gopal (author of books on Afghanistan), and Vanda Felbab-Brown (senior fellow at the Brookings Institution). Read "ISIS is in Afghanistan, But Who Are They Really?", FRONTLINE, November 17, 2015.

How to Fight ISIS - 4 Tips. General McChrystal, former head of JSOC, cdr of Ranger Regiment, and ISAF commander, is someone who actually knows how to fight terrorists. Here is an article on the topic from Fall 2014. He provides four tips on fighting ISIS. (The Havoc Journal, September 14, 2014).

SOF News

JSOU Paper on Tactical Opns & Strategic Effect. Colin S. Gray has wrote a paper entitled Tactical Operations for Strategic Effect: The Challenge of Currency Conversion, JSOU Special Report, November 2015, Joint Special Operations University.
http://jsou.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=16765138

Special Warfare Magazine. The October-November 2015 issue of Special Warfare Magazine has been published by the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. You can read online or download at the link below.
www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/27727

Tip of the Spear. This monthly magazine is published by the U.S. Special Operations Command at McDill AFB, Florida. The latest issue (Nov 2015) is available at the link below.
www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/27636

USSOCOM Fact Book 2016. The United States Special Operations Command 2016 Fact Book was been published in October 2015. It is 60 pages long and filled with neat photos and an explanation of what USSOCOM is and does. It is only 61 MBs big and can be download at the link below.
www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/27133

SF Training Ukraine SOF. United States Army Special Forces (USSF) have started a six month long training program for the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF). Read more in "US begins special forces training for Ukrainian troops", UAToday.TV, November 21, 2015.

SOF and Exercise Jackal Stone. Special Operations Forces (SOF) from several countries took part in an exercise aboard the USS Mount Whitney this fall. The training was focused on building SOF capacity and capabilities of partner nations. SOCEUR organizes the JS exercise. Read more in "USS Mount Whitney trains with SOF during JS10", Special Operations Blog - SOFSPACE, November 23, 2015.

Paper - SOF Background and Issues. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has provided a 12-page paper to Congress entitled U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress, November 19, 2015. It is posted on the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) website (which means military computers won't access it). One interesting topic is the issues associated with the administration's decision to deploy SOF to northern Syria.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS21048.pdf

Intelligence News Updates

Snowden? "Hang Him". Former CIA Chief Woolsey believes that Snowden is partially responsible for the terrorist attacks in Paris. Certainly Snowden has done immense damage to the intelligence community and needs to be punished for a very long time! Not everyone agrees with Woolsey's analysis of Snowden's share of the blame for recent events in Paris. Read "Former CIA Chief Woolsey: Electrocution Too Good for Snowden, Hang Him! - OpEd", Eurasia Review, a Journal of Analysis and News, November 22, 2015.

Pentagon Investigation on CENTCOM Intel Reports. An expanding internal investigation is underway at the Pentagon about intelligence assessments on ISIS that may have been altered to paint a more positive picture of Iraqi security forces. For instance, instead of saying that Iraqi security forces hastily retreated from ISIS attacks the reports were modified to say that the government forces 'repositioned' or 'redeployed'. The investigation is also looking at allegations that CENTCOM sugarcoated intelligence reports about Afghanistan as well. They shouldn't have to look too far for that evidence! Read more in "Pentagon Expands Inquiry Into Intelligence on ISIS Surge", The New York Times, November 21, 2015.

CIA, Amazon, and Cloud Computing. "Amazon is building a cloud for the intelligence community that could bridge the sort of gaps that preceded the 9/11 attacks". Read "How the CIA Partnered With Amazon and Changed Intelligence", by Frank Konkel, Defense One, July 11, 2014.

Spymasters - a Review. A two hour documentary on the Central Intelligence Agency aired on Showtime on Saturday, November 28th. Twelve of the living former directors of the CIA were interviewed. Afghanistan and the Global War on Terror (GWOT) are recurring themes. Read a review of the program by Lea Carpenter, in "Showtime's CIA Documentary Takes On New Relevance After the Paris Attacks", Vogue, November 27, 2015.

Selfies Instigated by NSA? One LinkedIn account put forth the rumor that selfies are just a fad created by the National Security Agency in order to get as many faces on file as possible for facial recognition technology. Naw, no way.

"Yeah . . . About That Facebook Account". It was recently disclosed that over 600,000 Facebook users were taking part in an experiment conducted by Cornell University on how emotions spread on the popular social network site Facebook. This is the type of new ground that the intelligence agencies are now exploring as well - using open-source indicators in order to predict social unrest, growth of insurgent or terrorism organizations, and more. Read "The Military Is Already Using Facebook to Track Your Mood", Defense One, by Patrick Tucker, July 2, 2014.

"John has a very long beard". All you secret squirrels will appreciate the latest comic from "The Further Adventures of Doctrine Man", November 27, 2015.

Nations CI Strategy 2016. For those who may have missed it - the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has released the National Counterintelligence Strategy of the United States - 2016.
http://www.ncsc.gov/publications/strategy/docs/National_CI_Strategy_2016.pdf

Scholarship and Intelligence. Stephen Coulthart and Damien Van Puyvelde have penned an article about national security education and subsequent employment - the process where students take courses relating to security or intelligence studies and then find employment in the intelligence community. The authors believe, contrary to some recently published news reports, that there are plenty of national security programs to provide the prospective employees for the many intelligence agencies and organizations. Read more in "What Crisis? Scholarship and National Security", War on the Rocks, November 19, 2015.

Afghan Security News

Ghani Visits Kunduz. President Ghani visited Kunduz City this past week. While there he fired the local head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and several local government officials. He cited the results of the Kunduz investigation team into the fall of Kundez City - saying that it was an intelligence and coordination failure - not a conspiracy. He also warned that the activities of illegal militias need to be curtailed. While the Afghan government wants to expand the Afghan Local Police (ALP); it has come out trying to discourage some local militias. This has some critics confused as they think that the ALP 'is just another militia'. Many illegal militias or those secretly supported by the National Directorate of Security (think CIA and FBI rolled into one but without the legal restraints imposed by Congress) call themselves ALP in a quest for legitimacy and additional funding. So it is easy to understand the confusion by those not so knowledgeable on the situation of militias. Read more in "Visiting Kunduz, a Taliban target, Afghan Leader Urges Security Overhaul", The New York Times, November 26, 2015.

Child Suicide Bomber. Reports indicated that an 11-year-old boy has been trained as a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. The boy was recently arrested near Kunduz City. He was trained by Taliban militants since he was 5 years old. He was abducted from Khanabad port and kept by the Taliban for six years. (Khaama News, Nov 22, 2015).

Magnetic Bomb in Kabul. A bomb went off in central Kabul on Monday (Nov 23rd) but caused no casualties. It took place near the Habibia High School in the Qalachi area.

Civilians Injured / Killed in Bombing. Civilians were wounded and others killed in a blast in PD5 Kabul near the Austad Rabani University on Tuesday, Nov 24.

IED Kills three Militants. Apparently being an IED emplacer can be hazardous. Three militants were killed when their bomb went off earlier than expected in Kot district of Nangarhar province on Monday, November 23rd. I hate when that happens. (Khaama Press, Nov 22, 2015).

Former DGov Hung in Oruzgan. The Taliban hanged to death a former district governor in southern Oruzgan province. He was kidnapped from his house by gun point and later hung. (Khaama Press, Nov 28, 2015).

Fighting Disrupting Harvest. Food prices are rising sharply as a result of intensified fighting this year across Afghanistan. The war between pro-government forces and the Taliban has greatly affected the agriculture sector in northern Afghanistan. (IRIN, Nov 24, 2015).

Report: Violence & Corruption. A confidential report by the German Foreign Ministry paints a grim picture of Afghanistan. Read more in a news report by Deutsche Welle, November 25, 2015.

Hekmatyar Wants Peace Talks. The head of the Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin is proposing that he and his group take part in peace talks with the Afghan government. Some of the conditions attached include the complete withdrawal of foreign troops and new elections in 2016. Read more in "Feared Afghan warlord known for anti-US stance, offer of shelter for bin Laden, seeks comeback", U.S. News & World Report, November 27, 2015.

MoD and MoI Working on Strategic Plan for Summer 2016. As usual, the ANDSF will focus this winter on training and equipping troops to prepare them for the spring - summer - fall fighting season in 2016. And, as usual, they ANDSF will formulate their plans for the upcoming fighting season. (Tolo News, Nov 24, 2015).

NSC Restructuring? The Afghan government is considering an assessment of the structure of the Afghan National Security Council (NSC). This follows the release of the findings of the Kunduz fact-finding team that investigated the fall of Kunduz City to the Taliban. The report point a finger at the NSC - citing poor coordination and management. The report also cited a number of other factors as well. Read more in "Govt To Assess NSC Structure: Hashemi", Tolo News, November 22, 2015.

Information Operations (IO)

ISIS and Social Media. Radical jihadi fighters have found a voice on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and other Internet platforms.. The jihadists generate support, spread their message, raise money, and recruit using social media. While government efforts are underway to counter the jihadist message it has - up to this point - been largely ineffective. The jihadist network is just too big and much more flexible than any of the government organizations. Many of the foreign fighters now fighting in Syria have been recruited via social media. Some social media platforms have taken to banning these jihadist accounts - Facebook, Twitter, etc. Read more in "Should ISIS fighters be allowed on social media platforms?", by Maddy Crowell, Yahoo! News, November 21, 2015.

Paper - Social Media and Articulation of Radical Narratives in Afghanistan. This research and policy paper wrote by Niamatullah Ibrahimi, Musab Omer, and Mohammad Irfani was provided logistical support by the Afghan Institute of Strategic Studies (AISS) and financial support from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). The report was done in November 2015. "The paper explores the role of social media as a medium of articulation of religiously-inspired radical ideologies and narratives in Afghanistan." www.aiss.af/publications/papers/

Tolo TV Targeted by Taliban. An Afghan media mogul is named as a target by the Taliban because of his (and his firm's) showcasing of Taliban atrocities. Read more in "The Muslim Media Mogul Standing Up to ISIS and the Taliban", The Daily Beast, by Lloyd Grove, November 26, 2015.

Should Jihadist Websites Be Shut Down? One writer thinks it would be bad policy to censor terrorist content on the Internet. Read more in "Shutting Down Jihadist Websites Won't Stop Terrorism", by Kaveh Waddel, The Atlantic, November 24, 2015.

Drones

Civilian Pilots for ISR Drones. The Air Force has hired civilian defense contractors to fly MQ-9 Reaper drones to help track suspected militants and other targets. The contractors are now operating combat air patrols above military areas of operation to provide video and other types of intelligence data. The Air Force says that the civilian drone pilots don't fire off any weapons systems; that they are only conducting Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Read more in "Air Force hires civilian drones pilots for combat patrols; critics question legality", Los Angeles Times, November 27, 2015.

NATO Drone Crashes in Afghanistan. A drone crashed in the Kohi Safi district of Parwan province on Tuesday, November 24th. Some news reports say that the drone was of the Reaper variety.

RPA Officer Pay to Go Up. Congress has ordered the Air Force to increase aviation incentive pay for pilots flying drones from $25,000 to $35,000. The pay increase is part of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. (Air Force Times, Nov 27, 2015).

Drone Strikes. An Afghan official says that a U.S. drone strike in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 16 militants. The air attack was in an area known as Gagi Mountain near the Pakistani border in Khost province. (Gandara Blog, November 27, 2015).

Heron Drone Still Active in Afghanistan. The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) is still operating the Heron UAS out of Mazar-e-Sharif. The drone provides a real-time video feed via satellite data link to the TAAC-North Joint Operations Center (JOC) located at Camp Marmal at MeS. Read more in "Heron 1 Chalks Up 25,000 Flight Hours in Afghanistan", ASDNews, November 27, 2105.

Afghan Refugees & Interpreters

Culture Shock. Many Europeans and Americans (and the occasional Canadian, Australian, New Zealander, and others) are surprised during their first trip to Afghanistan by the culture of their temporary assignment. There are lots of things to observe and learn quickly (unless of course, you are a fobbit who doesn't venture into the real Afghanistan). Reverse that situation and think about what an Afghan visitor (refugee, migrant, etc.) faces when he first ventures into Europe. For instance, what goes through an Afghan man's mind when he adjusts to life in Germany where a women is the national leader, pork is the national dish, and beer and wine is prevalent everywhere? Read "Culture Shock in the Promised Land of Germany", The New York Times, November 18, 2015.

Night Letters. There are many compelling reasons to leave Afghanistan - economic, social, security, opportunity, and more. But it is not that easy to pick up and leave. And having left . . . you need a destination. Enter the fabricated 'night letter'. If you have threatening letter from the Taliban then you may be able to start a new life in Europe. Most such letters were tacked on the door (usually at night by Taliban) of government officials and, Afghan policemen, school teachers, and interpreters working for Coalition military units. However, if the Taliban didn't give you a night letter then you can buy one from someone who sells forged threat letters. Read more in "Afghans seeking asylum buy fake Taliban threat letters", Stars & Stripes, November 22, 2015.

"Moderate Muslims" Left Behind - Interpreters Betrayed. A former serviceman with tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan wonders why the United States has abandoned the interpreters that helped the U.S. military accomplish its mission. He points out that the U.S. has an unfair and archaic visa process at the State Department. Read more in "The Moderate Muslims We Left Behind", The Blog - Huffington Post, by Eli Williamson, November 24, 2015.

An Interpreters Story. A former Afghan interpreter now resides in South Carolina courtesy of the Lutheran Services Carolinas. Read "From Afghanistan to South Carolina: A refugee's story", The Post and Courier, November 21, 2015.

CHF Afghanistan Factsheet. "The Afghanistan Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) is a country-based financing mechanism for humanitarian organisations under the oversight of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC). It is used to provide anticipated and timely funding towards jointly prioritised needs and critical gaps in the humanitarian response in Afghanistan." Read an updated CHF Factsheet (Nov 2015), posted on ReliefWeb, November 23, 2015.

UNHCR IDP Report. Read Durable Solutions for IDPs in Afghanistan, November 2015.
http://www.refworld.org/docid/5655550a4.html

Halting the Exodus. President Ghani is making pleas to his countrymen to stay in Afghanistan and help rebuild the nation. But many Afghans continue to leave for more security and better economic opportunity. Those that can't buy a passport, visa, and airline ticket turn into refugees fleeing Afghanistan via smuggling routes. Read more in "Afghan Leaders Try to Halt Exodus, but Pleas Ring Hollow", The New York Times, November 23, 2015.

Afghan War News Snippets

Australia-United States Defense Cooperation. The defense departments of the United States and Australia have signed a joint statement on defense cooperation for the 21st Century. Although Australia has been a steady partner in Afghanistan efforts in Afghanistan get a one-liner in this three page document. You can read it here.

Peace Talks Again . . . But Why? Pakistan and the United States have once again agreed to work together for an early resumption of the stalled Afghan peace talks process. This news follows the visit of Pakistan's Army Chief General Raheel Sharif to the United States where he held extensive discussions with key leaders of the U.S. military and Obama administration. Not sure why we bother given Pakistan's support of the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan could easily stem the tide of violence by pulling its support away from the insurgents. See "Pakistan, US Agree on Early Resumption of Afghan Peace Process", Tolo News, November 23, 2015.

A Whistleblower Without an OER. So what happens when you buck the system and report on fraud, waste and abuse in a major program that wasted millions of dollars? You don't get your OER on time and it delays your promotion and your next assignment. Learn more about what happened to COL John C. Hope, former in-country director for the Task Force for Business Stability Operations (TFBSO), after alerting authorities to millions of dollars squandered. See "A Pentagon Whistleblower Says He's Being Punished for Calling Out Waste in Afghanistan", VICE News, November 23, 2015.

New Political Head of Taliban. The Afghan Taliban have named a new head for their political office in Qatar and he is reported to be a supporter of peace talks with Kabul. Sher Mohammand Abbas Stanekzai is a former anti-Soviet fighter and a senior Taliban leader. (The Times of India, Nov 23, 2015).

WTO Membership? Officials in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry have stated that Afghanistan will be achieving membership in the World Trade Organization at the end of 2015. (Ariana News, Nov 27, 2015).

China's Road in Afghanistan. A road under construction that will run from Kabul to Jalalabad will assist in the movement of goods from / to Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, progress is slow because of insurgent activity and lack of cooperation from local Afghan elders. Read more in "Slow road from Kabul highlights China's challenge in Afghanistan", Reuters, November 22, 2015.

Earthquake in Badakhshan. On Sunday, Nov 22nd, the US Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a 5.9 magnitude with an epicenter in Badakhshan province. Tremors were experienced as far as Kabul.

Guest Writers Wanted

The Afghan War News Blog and the Afghan War News website is constantly striving to keep its blog, weekly newsletter, and website factual, current, and relevant. If you have a link to a website or document you feel should be shared with the greater community then please send it to us. In addition, we are looking for individuals with knowledge, experience, and expertise in Afghanistan on a wide range of topics to contribute blog posts and articles to our blog and add content to our website. Frequency of submission is up to you. If you wrote a paper on a relevant topic and would like to share it send it to us for posting on the blog and / or the website. If I missed an important story about Afghanistan - please let me know. Send the link! And naturally, if you see errors, outdated information, or broken links please let us know.

staff@afghanwarnews.info

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Sunday, November 22, 2015

Welcome to the 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 sent out via an email newsletter on Sunday am. We welcome comments, ideas for stories, contributions, and guest writers! Visit our website at www.afghanwarnews.info and follow us on Twitter at @AfghanWarBlog.

Low-Level Conflict in Balochistan

Ann Wilkens, a member of the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) Advisory Board, has wrote an article about the conflict in Balochistan - a region of Pakistan located south of Afghanistan's border. She provides ". . . an overview of this complex issue and concludes that political dialogue is urgently needed, if economic investment is to bring the intended, regional uplift and, most importantly, bring peace to a long-suffering population". There are many Balochs (about 600,000) who live in southern Afghanistan and some of these are refugees from Pakistan. Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province consisting of over 1/3 of the Pakistan land area; however, it represents only 5% of the nations population. While the majority of provinces residents are Balochs there are also significant amounts of Pashtuns and Hazaras. Learn more about this troubled region south of Afghanistan in The Crowded-Out Conflict: Pakistan's Balochistan in its fifth round of insurgency, by Ann Wilkens, Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), November 16, 2015.

"Follow the Money"

"Follow the Money". A phrase used many times by "counterterrorist' experts in containing the terrorist or insurgent threat is "follow the money". If you can cut the funding stream then you can degrade the operational capacity and capability of the terrorist or insurgent group. "Counter Threat Financing" is a field of counterterrorism that has seen increased interest this past decade. ISIS - based in eastern Syria and western Iraq - receives money from a variety of sources to include taxation of the residents living within the geographical areas it controls (the size of the United Kingdom), smuggling of goods and oil, proceeds from kidnappings, spoils from conquering places like Mosul (bank holdings, etc.), selling antiquaties on the black market, and donations from wealthy Arab nations and organizations in the Middle East. Tracy Samuelson tells us how ISIS is funded in "Where ISIS gets its money", Marketplace World, November 16, 2015.

FATF Report. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an independent inter-governmental body that develops and promotes policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of weapons of mass destruction. FATF has produced a report that analyzes recently identified terrorist financing (TF) methods and phenomena. Read Emerging Terrorist Financing Risks, October 2015.

Afghan Mines - Taliban Insurgency. The Natural Resources Monitoring Network (NRMN) said that the Taliban are trying to take control of provinces that are rich in minerals in a bid to bolster their finances. Security has drastically deteriorated in mineral rich provinces in Afghanistan over recent months. See "Taliban Eyes Afghanistan's Mines to Fund Insurgency", Tolo News, October 25, 2015.

Dostum - "PhD in Killing Militants"

Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum (former warlord, communist, anti-communist, government minister, general, powerbroker, mujihadeen, etc.) is mobilizing supporters across northern Afghanistan (especially Faryab province where a significant Uzbek population is found) in the fight against armed militants (Taliban and others). The former general holds no formal military post but has great influence among many armed militias across northern Afghanistan. He has formed a temporary alliance with a life-long enemy - Atta Mohammad Noor - the powerful governor of Balkh province. Periodically he ventures into northern Afghanistan to lead 'offensives' against militants. Read more in "Afghanistan's Dostum unites friends, foes in anti-Taliban fight", by Anuj Chopra, Yahoo! News, November 21, 2015.

Commentary

Need for a "Warrior Statesmen Regiment". Understanding complex wars like Afghanistan requires a flexible military that has diversity in its methodology and processes. One writer believes that the Army's personnel system is flawed and the militarys approaches to warfighting (as in MDMP) is not well suited to complex problems. He recommends the establishment of a course or school (and unit?) that ". . . would cover the human factors necessary to handle complexity . . .". Read more in the article by Alexander Frank, "Complexity, Psychology, and Modern War", Small Wars Journal, November, 17, 2015.

Panel Discussion on U.S. Mission in Afghanistan - Nov 23rd. The Middle East Institute will be hosting a discussion a entitled "Reappraising the U.S. Military Strategy and Mission in Afghanistan" on Monday, November 23rd from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm EST. Panel participants include LTG (R) David Barno of the American University (also senior commander in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005), Ali Jalali - former Interior Minister of Afghanistan and now with NDU, and others.
www.mei.edu/events/us-military-mission-afghanistan-succeeding

Stability Operations Era. Dr. Mark Moyar (author, consultant, and strategist) notes that "the stability operations era was born of the debris of the 9/11 attacks and operationalized with the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq." He also recognizes that one of the lessons from conflicts such as Afghanistan ". . . is that developing competent and committed local forces is often a linchpin of sustainable success." Read "FPI Analysis: The Stability Operations Era", The Foreign Policy Initiative, November 18, 2015.

"Force of the Future". Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has announced a group on initiatives to maintain the DoD's competitive edge in keeping and bringing in top talent to serve in the military. Read an analysis of this new program in "The Force of the Future", by Mark F. Cancian and Todd Harrison, Center for Strategic & International Studies, November 19, 2015.

MC-02 - An Exercise Breaking the Rules. Gary Anderson and Dave Dilegge write on the lessons of Millennium Challenge 02 in "Six Rules for Wargaming", War on the Rocks, November 11, 2015.

Balancing India and Pakistan. Afghanistan is in a difficult position today. Can it walk the line between India and its next door neighbor? Pakistan sees Afghanistan in terms of its strategic fight with India and considers Afghanistan as its strategic rear and a possible second front during a war with India. Therefore its policy of keeping Afghanistan in a state of turmoil with its support of the Afghan Taliban. India sees opportunity for diplomatic and economic advancement - something that Pakistan opposes. Read "On a Tightrope", by Umair Jamal, The Diplomat, November 16, 2015.

ISIS in Afghanistan

The Afghan journalist Najibullah Quraishi talks about his journey into ISIS-held territory for his Frontline documentary: ISIS in Afghanistan. This five-minute audio is informative - touching on the beginnings of ISIS in Afghanistan, pay for ISIS fighters ($700 per month vs. $300 for ANA Soldier), infiltration into the schools, teachings on Islam, etc. One surprising aspect is how young the children are when they enter into the indoctrination process. Listen to "ISIS Gains a Foothold in Afghanistan", National Public Radio, November 16, 2015.

SOF News

Can SF Defeat ISIS? Mike Rogers, writing for CNN, says that SF can only do so much - especially when the numbers deployed are to be small. A projected number to be deployed to Syria is 50 SOF personnel - hardly a robust number. He compares this proposed deployment to Syria with the robust SOF presence in Iraq from 2004-2011. He concludes by saying "A minimal number of special operations forces can achieve a great deal but they are incapable of achieving strategic success." Read more in "Can Special Forces defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq?", CNN, November 19, 2015.

Mali Attack and U.S. SF? One news report stated that a few U.S. Special Forces members were involved (in some fashion - Intel, advice, etc.) with the rescue of some of the 100 + hostages in the American-owned hotel in Mali taken by al-Qaeda-linked jihadists. Perhaps we will see more in the news about this? See "Mali attack: Special forces storm hotel to free hostages", BBC News, November 20, 2015. To learn more about U.S. SOF involvement in Mali read "Countering Violent Extremism in Mali", by Dr. Mark Moyar, JSOU Report 15-5, November 2015, Joint Special Operations University.

SOF Operator Killed in Iraq. MSG Joshua Wheeler was killed in action while deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq) in late October 2015 while serving with Delta Force. His death took place during an operation to release 70 individuals that were being held hostage by ISIS. He was assigned to U.S. Army Special Operations Command in 2004 and deployed 11 times in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read a biographical sketch of MSG Wheeler posted on the U.S. Army Special Operations Command website. Read about his funeral at Arlington Cemetery (The Washington Post, November 18, 2015).

How to Win in Syria with SF. Dave Betz, a retired SGM from U.S. Army Special Forces, tells us how to win in Syria with SF. Read his piece at Small Wars Journal, November 20, 2015.

G1 Trainer Needed for SMW. Raytheon is advertising a position for a G1 Trainer for the Afghan Air Force Special Mission Wing. http://jobinafghanistan.blogspot.com/2015/11/afg-kabul-g1-trainer-administration.html

Jade Helm and Obama. Conspiracy theorists had a field day with the Jade Helm exercise held this past year in the southwest of the United States. This special operations exercise was organized by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (based at Fort Bragg, NC). Many thought that President Obama was using the exercise as a vehicle to declare martial law in an attempt to stay in power longer than eight years. Obama was recently asked what was the most entertaining conspiracy theory about him and he answered - the military exercise in Texas. Read "Obama names Jade Helm rumors as most entertaining conspiracy theory about him", The Washington Post, November 18, 2015.

Afghan Security News

U.S. Embassy Travel Warning. On Thursday, November 19th, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued an "Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens" stating that it received reports militants planned to target and kidnap a group of U.S. persons who dressed in Afghan attire and frequently traveled to areas of Azrah district in Logar province. The district of Azrah is mostly under the control of the Taliban. Even when there was a U.S. brigade at FOB Shank in Logar province the U.S. very rarely (maybe twice a year) ventured into Azrah - and that was only to helicopter a company plus into the district center for 4 to 48 hours. While the Afghan government says that Azrah district is under the control of the ANDSF . . . it isn't.

Yamgan District Falls . . . Again. For the second time in six months the Yamgan district of Badakhshan province has fallen to the Taliban. The insurgents took advantage of a period of bad weather which prevented government reinforcements from reaching the district. (Khaama Press, Nov 19, 2015).

Kunduz Fell b/c Politics. A recent report by a group studying the fall of Kunduz City to the Taliban in late September 2015 concluded that the in-fighting between the President and CEO caused many of the problems of insecurity. Read "Negligence of Presidency, Executive Office led to fall of Kunduz", ATN News, November 19, 2015.

Suicide Attack in Helmand. A suicide car bomb targeting a convoy of foreign forces just outside the city of Lashkar Gar in Helmand province killed one Afghan civilian and wounded 12 others. The three-vehicle convoy was traveling from Marjah to Lashkar Gah - one of the vehicles caught fire causing some casualties. See "Suicide attack on foreign convoy in Afghanistan kills one: police", Reuters, November 15, 2015.

30 Hazara Passengers Abducted. It appears that more kidnappings are underway in Zabul. Additional people were kidnapped on Saturday by Taliban.(Gandhara Blog, Nov 21, 2015).

Women Lashed to Death. Just weeks after a young woman was stoned to death in Ghor province another woman has now died following a public lashing in Ghor province.

Border Police Killed. At least 13 Afghan Border Police were killed in Khanisheen district of Helmand province after the Taliban overran a checkpost on Saturday.

Losing Confidence . . . "More Afghans than at any time since 2004 feel their country is moving in the wrong direction . . . " Read more in "Afghans losing confidence in new government", Deutsche Welle, November 17, 2015.

Mi-25 Gunships to AAF via India. The Afghan Air Force (AAF) will soon receive four Mi-25 attack helicopters from India. The rapid fielding of these advanced weapons systems area a good example of how quickly aircraft can be fielded when you strip away the bureaucracy. The U.S. Air Force should take note - it has taken years for the A-29 to be fielded to the AAF - and they are not in country yet! Read more in "Indian-supplied Mi-25 gunships to join Afghan Air Force in 2 months", Khaama Press, November 20, 2015.

Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. Tashkent is keen to take part in regional security cooperation but may not be amiable to a formal defence pact. The awareness that the Afghan security forces are slowly losing ground in northern Afghanistan has prompted Uzbekistan to be more cooperative with other neighboring nations in security matters. Read more in "Uzbekistan's Evolving Response to Afghan, Islamic State Risks", Institute for War & Peace Reporting, November 20, 2015.

Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Despite the turmoil currently roiling Afghanistan the nation of Turkmenistan sees "Afghanistan as a potential land of opportunity, as a trading partner, a market for electricity exports, and a transit nation . . . " for the TAPI pipeline. Read more in "Turkmenistan and Afghanistan Seek Stronger Ties amidst Uncertainty", Silk Road Reporters, November 18, 2015. See also "Turkmenistan: We Don't Need Any Help with Afghan Border", The Bug Pit 0 Eurasianet.org, November 21, 2015.

Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has met with the Kazakh president to discuss economic and security ties during his first official visit to Kazakhstan. (Gandhara Blog, Nov 21, 2015).

Afghanistan's Female Commander. "Over 35 years of conflict, fighters loyal to the Afghan warlord known as 'Kaftar', or 'The Dove', have defeated Soviet, Taliban, and government troops.". What is remarkable about this story is 'The Dove' is a woman. Watch a 4-min video about her in "Afghanistan's Female Warlord", Radio Free Europe, November 20, 2015.

Drone Strike Hits Taliban. Afghan officials stated that a drone strike hit a group of Taliban in Khohyani district, Afghanistan along the Pakistan border on Sunday, November 15th. Three Afghans and nine Pakistanis were killed. (The Washington Post, Nov 15, 2015).

Information Operations

Women's Radio Station - Destroyed. The Taliban ransacked the Kaihan Radio Station during its brief stay in Kunduz City during October. The radio station was backed by U.S. and Western funding and produced programs on peace building and understanding the law as well as addressing topics on religious issues, women's rights, and cultural taboos. The very expensive equipment needed to run a radio station was either destroyed and taken by the Taliban - including transmitter, mixer, microphones, televisions, headphones, and computers. Read more in "An Afghan women's radio station becomes a Taliban casualty", The Washington Post, by Sudarsan Raghavan, November 16, 2015.

Article - New Narrative Needed for Afghanistan. Abdullah Ahmadzai, country representative for The Asia Foundation in Afghanistan, is concerned for the future of the young people of his country. He sees the failing economy and deteriorating security situation as a signs of despair for the nations youth. He believes that ". . . Afghans need a clear, credible vision of the future articulated to them; . . ." Read more in "Afghans Need a New Narrative", Thomson Reuters Foundation, November 17, 2015.

Leonie Industries Cut Loose. Leonie Industries lost out in bidding to SOSi International last month for the Pentagon's contract for propaganda. Read more in "Propaganda contractor dumped by U.S. Army", USA Today, November 18, 2015.

Inside the ISIS Media Machine. The efforts by the western nations to counter the ISIS information operations campaign has been overwhelming unsuccessful. Read "Inside the surreal world of the Islamic State's propaganda machine", The Washington Post, November 20, 2015.

ISIS "Going to Darknet". Many of the postings on Facebook, Twitter, and other Internet sites are taken down after discovery. To combat this ISIS is now posting on the "Darknet". Read more in "After Paris, ISIS moves propaganda machine to Darknet", CSOonline, November 15, 2015.

Countering ISIS Propaganda. "The Islamic State (or ISIS) has recruited an estimated 20,000 fighters since 2011." This recruitment is aided significantly by the use of propaganda and social media. Attempts to countermessage ISIS have largely been unsuccessful - due to the "sheer size of the ISIS communications footprint" and limits in size and scope of countermeasures. Read more in an article by Alberto M. Fernandez, Vice President of the Middle East Media Research Institute, entitled Four ways to counter ISIS propaganda more effectively, Brookings.edu, November 16, 2015.

Counterterrorism

Red Mercury - A Scam? "For decades, aspiring bomb makers - including ISIS - have desperately tried to get their hands on a lethal substance called red mercury. There's a reason that they never have." The scam even consumed Task Force Paladin based at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan when, in early 2011, a European military unit handed red mercury over to examination. This escapade was referred to as "Operation Chimera". Read "The Doomsday Scam", by C.J. Chivers, The New York Times Magazine, November 19, 2015.

Global Terrorism Index 2015. "In 2014 the total number of deaths from terrorism increased by 80 per cent when compared to the prior year. This is the largest yearly increase in the last 15 years." The Global Terrorism Index 2015 provides a detailed analysis of the changing trends in terrorism since 2000 for 162 countries. It investigates the changing patterns of terrorism by geographic activity, methods of attack, organisations involved, etc. The report is posted here on the ELDIS.org website.

ISIS More Deadly Before Death. According to Seth Jones, someone with a little bit of familiarity with insurgents and terrorists, the Islamic State is losing territory but may become more deadly. He says that when terrorists lose ground, they typically lash out with greater violence. Read "ISIS Will Become More Deadly Before It Dies", The Slate, November 17, 2015.

Life of a Drone Operator. "In a secluded room at an airbase in Nevada, young men hold the power of life and death over people thousands of miles away." Former servicemen who served at Creech Air Force Base relate their story about their part in the drones used in the war against terror. Read "Life as a drone Operator", The Guardian, November 18, 2015. See also "Death From Above: Confessions of a Killer Drone Operator", Newsweek, November 19, 2015.

Intelligence News

Snowden Aiding in Rise of Islamic State. A former acting head of the CIA, Michael Morell, says the Paris attacks by ISIS have exposed how freely the IS was able to operate in an environment where intelligence activities have been curtailed as a result of Snowdens massive disclosures. Morell provides examples of the damage done by Snowden in a recent news article. Read "It's All Back in Snowden's Lap", Politico Magazine, November 17, 2015. In a related development the Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard has been released from a prison in North Carolina after serving a 30-year sentence - that does free up a cell for Snowden.

Encryption Busting to Fight Terrorism. In the wake of the Paris terror attacks the heads of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are calling for new tools to crack the coded conversations of suspected terrorists. Some are looking for software developers to install a 'backdoor' to their encryption technology. There are some who are resisting the move to using software 'backdoors'. Read more in "Critics Knock FBI and CIA Directors for Encryption-Busting Agenda", Newsweek, November 19, 2015.

NATO to Share Intel with Afghans. According to a recent news report ". . . NATO has agreed to explore the possibility of sharing intelligence with Afghan forces to help prevent incidents . . ." such as recent spectacular Taliban attacks. Hmmm. Though we were doing that already? And if not, why not? Read "NATO to consider sharing intelligence with Afghan forces", Pajhwok Afghan News, November 21, 2015.

More HUMINT Needed. In light of terrorist groups ability to 'go dark' some are advocating more reliance on human intelligence. Read more in "The Defeat of ISIL and the Revival of Humint", Middle East Briefing, November 2015.

Finland - Revising Intel Laws? "The terror attacks in Paris have reinstated a sense of urgency to the ongoing efforts to revise the intelligence laws of Finland." Read more in "Support for intelligence activities rises after attacks in Paris", Helsinki Times, November 18, 2015.

New JIEDDO (JIDA) Busier than Ever. Folks thought that with the withdrawal from Iraq at the end of 2011 and significant downsizing of troop levels in Afghanistan (now at 9,800) that the need for an organization like the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) would go away. Not so much. The replacement for JIEDDO - the newly named Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency (JIDA) is working very hard to find solutions to protect soldiers and civilians against more and more IEDs. Read more in "As JIEDDO Becomes JIDA, IED Threat Builds in Theater", Defense News, November 19, 2015.

CENTCOM Sugarcoating Afghan Assessments? "The military has been accused of fudging the numbers in the fight against the Islamic State. Congress wants to know if it did with the Taliban too." Read "Did the Pentagon Cook the Books on Its Afghanistan Intel?", by Dan de Luce, Foreign Policy, November 19, 2015.

Blunders of the CIA. James Lockhart, a specialist in U.S. and Latin American relations, writes about some of the misadventures of the spy agency. Read "The Mysterious Blunderings of the CIA", War on the Rocks, November 20, 2015.

New U.S. National CI Strategy. For the first time since 2009 the National Counterintelligence Strategy of the U.S. has been released at the unclassified level. The new strategy (it is updated every three years) is outlined with five Mission Objectives and two Enabling Objectives to identify, mitigate, and counter Foreign Intelligence Entities efforts and insider threats. Read more in a blog post at On the Homefront, Homeland Security Digital Library Blog, November 19, 2015.

China Spying on U.S.? Recent visits by leading Chinese governmental leaders have been used to reassure the United States that China is no longer stealing our secrets. In early December more meetings are scheduled to discuss anti-hacking accords. But not all are convinced. Read more in "U.S. counterintelligence chief skeptical China has curbed spying on U.S.", Reuters, November 18, 2015.

Received your OMB Letter? Have you got your letter from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) saying that your SF-86 was stolen by the Chinese? Last week my wife got hers and I was feeling a bit left out. Then . . . well I got mine. So I am now reassured by the U.S. government that the Chinese know everything there is to know about me . . . since the SF-86 contains my employment history, almost every address I have lived at, who all my relatives are, and what my social security number is. All told - probably about 80 some pages when printed out. It is great to be included with millions of others on the Chinese database!

Reports on Afghanistan

Geospatial Analysis and Reconstruction in Afghanistan. As international troops and observers pull out of Afghanistan and concentrate their personnel in Kabul there is less and less oversight on the money being spent on reconstruction, development, and economic projects across Afghanistan. "Geospatial analysis and mapping have a critical role to play in the reconstruction efforts in conflict-affected regions." A report by David Mansfield is available that explains this topic in detail. Read Effective Monitoring and Evaluation in Conflict-Affected Environments: Afghanistan Post-2014, United States Institute of Peace (USIP), November 12, 2015.

Asia Foundation Survey - Afghanistan 2015. Each year the Asia Foundation conducts a countrywide survey of the Afghan people. This annual survey provides insight into the views of Afghans on issues central to the country's development. Conducted in June 2015 with almost 10,000 Afghan citizens representing 14 ethnic groups and all 34 provinces - this year's survey includes new questions on youth, ISIL/ISIS, women in leadership, and mobile phone access - as well as the standard questions on security, governance and development. http://asiafoundation.org/afghansurvey/

"Afghan optimism about the overall direction of the country and confidence in government fell to their lowest point in a decade, while fear for personal safety increased to a record high. Afghans cite deteriorating security, unemployment, and corruption for the main reasons for their pessimism."

Paper - Cultural Frictions and Mentoring the ANA. The Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA) - sometimes referred to as "Sandhurst in the Sand" - is hopefully providing Afghanistan with future leaders who can help the nation forward in this very serious security environment. This paper ". . . traces coalition force mentors from their pre-deployment training at Sandhurst, to their deployment at ANAOA and finally to post-deployment, in order to explore their experiences of mentorship." One aspect of successful mentoring (training, advising, . . . call it what you wish) is that the mentor needs to bridge the cultural divide. It is important to recognize the discrepancy between the promotion of Western values and the emphasis on local ownership. A 'must read' paper if you are heading to or currently in Afghanistan as an advisor. Read "Cultural Frictions: Mentoring the Afghan Army at 'Sandhurst in the Sand'", Small Wars Journal, by Maya Mynster Christensen and Cecilie Odgaard Jakobsen, November 19, 2015.

Afghan Refugees & Interpreters

Afghan Refugees. Afghanistan is once again experiencing a huge departure of its citizens. Many are seeking to escape the ongoing (and increasing) violence, some are fearful of a return of the Taliban regime, while others are seeking a greater economic opportunity. Afghan refugees are the second largest group of refugees entering Europe (next to Syrian refugees). The refugee crisis in Europe is at a crisis level and the initial tide of 'reception' is quickly turning to 'rejection' - especially in light of the recent terrorist events in Paris. Some nations are tightening up its refugee policies (Finland, Norway, Germany, etc.). Read more in "Berlin To Fast-Track Deportation of Afghan Economic Refugees", Tolo News, November 16, 2015. See also "Germany launches campaign to deter refugees leaving Afghanistan", Khaama Press, November 15, 2015. See also "German Campaign Asks Afghans to Think Twice Before They Go", Gandhara Blog, November 20, 2015.

Pak Police Not So Friendly to Afghan Refugees. The Human Rights Watch has alleged that police abuses against Afghan refugees in Pakistan have increased significantly during the past year. (Voice of America, Nov 18, 2015). See also "Pakistan: Police Abusing Afghans", Human Rights Watch, November 18, 2015.

Afghan Interpreters. Currently the world is engaged in a debate about what to do with the Syrian refugees. Some want to cut the amount of Syrian refugees entering their countries - citing economic and security reasons. Others want to open the doors to refugees. But there is another group of people that may be more deserving of refuge in Europe and the United States. Read more in "Forget the Syrian refugees. America needs to bring its Afghan and Iraqi interpreters her first", The Washington Post, November 17, 2015.

Afghan War News Snippets

Female ANP Forced into Prostitution. There are allegations surfacing in Kabul that an Afghan security forces officer has forced female police recruits into prostitution. (ABC Net News, Nov 15, 2015).

SIGAR - Reconstruction Hurt by Corruption. The head of the U.S. Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) says that reconstruction efforts are plagued by poor planning, wasteful spending, and chronic corruption. Read more in a news report (Gandhara Blog, Nov 19, 2015). See also the transcript of prepared remarks by John F. Sopko (SIGAR) from his address to the Watson Institute for International Studies (Providence, R.I.) on November 18, 2015 entitled "U.S. Challenges in Afghanistan: A Discussion with John Sopko".

Georgian Soldier Honored in U.S. Posthumously. A ceremony where a Georgian soldier was awarded the U.S. Bronze Star Medal was recently held at Fort Campbell. Private First Class Vasil Kuljanishvili died in September while serving in the NATO-led Resolute Support mission alongside the 101st Airborne Division. (Agenda.ge, Nov 19, 2015).

Georgians, BAF, and the Marines. Bagram Air Base is the largest U.S. military installation in Afghanistan and subject to attack by snipers, rockets, and mortars. However there are forces working at BAF dedicated to ensuring the safety of the base. Some of these forces are from the Republic of Georgia. The Georgian soldiers are assisted in their mission by U.S. Marines. Read more in a news report posted by DVIDS, Nov 18, 2015.

Germany in for Long Haul. Germany has decided to modestly increase the size of its Afghanistan contingent and to extend the deployment's mandate until the end of 2016. The number of German troops will grow to 980. Read more in a news report by Business Standard, November 19, 2015. See a news report on the same topic by Tolo News, November 18, 2015.

"DEEP" and Governance in Afghanistan. NATO sponsored some seminars that provided Afghan civil and military officials with opportunities to learn more about strategic planning and improving civil-military interaction. Learn more in an article - "Advancing governance goals in Afghanistan's defence and security sector", NATO Newsroom, November 19, 2015.

Kabul Bank Scandal - Just Won't Go Away. The Afghan government was recently embarrassed when it rolled out its "Smart City" plan for urban renewal. One of the shareholders of the project is currently serving a 15 year sentence for his part in the Kabul Bank scandal. Read more in "The Afghan Government and the Smart City Debacle: Who out-smarted whom?", Afghanistan Analysts Network, November 21, 2015.

Afghan Meteorologists Increase Capabilities. The Train, Advise, Assist Command - Air (TAAC-Air) is helping the Afghan Air Force meteorologists and weather forecasters on how to provide weather support to the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF). (DVIDS, Nov 18, 2015).

Camp Baker Closed. The Australians are slowly pulling out of Afghanistan. Camp Baker, located within the confines of Kandahar Air Field in southern Afghanistan was the Australian Defense Forces (ADF) main logistics and support base. It was established in March 2006. Read more in "Australia closes Afghan logistics base", Shepard News, November 18, 2015.

FM 3-96, Brigade Combat Team Updated. FM 3-96 provides doctrine for the brigade combat team and describes relationships, organizational roles and functions, capabilities and limitations, and responsibilities within the BCT. Read more in the TRADOC Newsletter, November 19, 2015.

Army Divorce Rate & Relationship w/ Strippers. A new study has found that there is a correlation between Soldiers marrying pole dancers and failed marriages. Read more in "Army to Lower Divorce Rates by Training Soldiers Not to Marry Strippers", Duffel Blog, November 21, 2015..

Battle for Kunduz City. A top government official in Afghanistan recently revealed that more than 1,300 foreign fighters participated in the capture of Kunduz City in northern Afghanistan last month. Some outside observers believe that this figure may be a bit high. Read more in "Afghan Official: Over 1,300 Foreign Fighters in Kunduz Battle", Voice of America, November 15, 2015.