Afghan War Blog

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Six U.S. Killed by VBIED in Afghanistan

Photo by DVIDS Dec 21, 2015.

Six U.S. Air Force personnel were killed near Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan on Monday, December 21st by a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED). The suicide bomber was driving a motorbike in the attack. Among the victims were a detective with the New York City police department, the son of a DC restaurateur (and AF investigator), and a female major in the Air Force. The Airmen were conducting a meeting with local figures in the area. Additional members of the U.S. military were wounded as well as a small number of Afghan police officials. The Embassy of the United States issued a statement on the attack near Bagram. The six airmen are identified in a news report by Air Force Times. Some news reports say that the attack was partially enabled by a failure of Afghan police to conduct an adequate search of people entering the area where the patrol was working.

U.S. Aid Worker Killed in Afghanistan

Photo from "Lisa Akbari
Foundation" Facebook

A U.S. aid worker was killed in Kabul by an Afghan man. Lisa Akbari, an Afghan-American (age 35), was shot while leaving the gym in her apartment complex and returning to her room. She worked for the DoD as a member of the Human Terrain System from 2009 to 2013, and then for several humanitarian aid organizations in Afghanistan. Her father is from Afghanistan and her mother from Iran. Lisa grew up in California. The attacker was captured shortly after the incident. A non-profit organization called the "Lisa Akbari Foundation" has been established to raise money for Afghan women and children.

Some news stories of the incident are below:

"American women killed in Kabul wanted to help Afghans, sister says", CNN, Dec 22, 2015.
"Mullah Accused of Killing Afghan-American Woman in Kabul", Breitbart.com, Dec 22, 2015.

Troubles in Helmand Province

The Taliban have not taken the usual break in fighting during the 2015-2016 winter season. The snow has fallen but the conflict continues in several parts of Afghanistan. One area where the conflict continues is Helmand province in the southwest of Afghanistan. Only two or three of the districts of Hemand province are controlled by the government; the Taliban control the other eleven (?) districts. The Afghan government disputes this assessment; guess it depends on what you mean by district control. Sangin district is noted as the latest to fall - although the government maintains that it still controls the district and the ANDSF are attempting to (or have) relieve(d) the small district center compound. The Taliban are supported by the Ishaqzai tribe who constitute a sizable part of the population of the province. The U.S. alienated this tribe early in the Afghan conflict pushing them into the Taliban fold. While the Taliban will likely control 95% of Helmand it is doubtful that the Taliban will take the provincial capital Lashkar Gah as the 215th Afghan Army Corps is located there.

ANA and ANP Not Up to the Task. There is still a large amount of corruption, numerous "ghost soldiers and policemen", poor leadership, a lack of coordination among the security forces, and a lack of intelligence. The western nations constant refrain is that the ANDSF are able to stand up to the Taliban - it is obvious that this is not true in some areas of Afghanistan (Helmand for one).

Refugees Flood Provincial Capital. Many Helmand residents fleeing the fighting have gone to Lashkar Gah but safety may be fleeting as the fighting is now at the suburbs of this provincial capital. (The New York Times, Dec 28, 2015).

U.K. SOF units were rushed to the province to shore up the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) - see a UK MoD statement confirming this. See also a news report by BBC News (Dec 22, 2015). According to the UK MoD the UK troops are advisors sent to the former Camp Bastion (now called Camp Shrabak) and they are not engaged in combat (Hmmmm.). There are about 450 U.K. troops throughout Afghanistan in a mentoring and advisory role. Learn more about the UK's involvement in Helmand province in "UK troops in Afghanistan: Timeline of key events", BBC News, December 22, 2015.

U.S.SOF. U.S. Special Forces troops are also deployed to Helmand - most likely advising the Afghan Special Operations Kandaks.

Strategic Importance of Helmand? Well, . . . it depends on who is talking. The U.S. Marines, U.K., Danes, and a few other nations expended a lot of money and the human toll was significant - so they have some strong feelings about the importance of the province. The Brits lost about 100 personnel in the Sangin area along with many more severely wounded. The U.S. Marines also took significant casualties. How would the loss of Helmand province affect Kandahar, Herat and Kabul? Probably not much in the eyes of some analysts. The biggest loss to the government would be the drug trade revenue taken from corrupt army, police and government officials as well as local power brokers. The Taliban would gain a significant source of revenue and a secure area from which to operate - as well as score an important IO victory. They may also consider moving leadership from the safe sanctuary of Pakistan into Helmand province (or at least spread an IO message that this has happened).

R.S. Says Not So Strategic. Perhaps the biggest indicator of the strategic importance of Helmand is by taking a look at where the Resolute Support Train, Advise, and Assist Commands (TAACs) are positioned. There are six field corps of the Afghan Army located at Herat (207 Corps), Mazer-e Sharif (209 Corps), Laghman province (201st), Gardez (203rd), Kandahar (205), and Lashkar Gah (215th). The 215th does not have an advisory team stationed at the Corps HQs. That should tell you something.

Location of TAACs w/ ANA Corps

DoD 1225 Report on Afghanistan - Dec 2015

The Department of Defense has published its semi-annual report on the current situation in Afghanistan. The report, entitled Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, was published in mid-December 2015. It has 96 pages of information spanning all aspects of the Afghan conflict. It is commonly referred to as the "1225 report" and is required in accordance with Section 1225 of the NDAA for FY 2015. It includes a description of the strategy of the U.S. for security and stability in Afghanistan, a current and anticipated threat assessment, and a description of many aspects of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). The period covered is from June 1, 2015 to November 30, 2015. Previous reports and assessments on the conflict in Afghanistan can be read at the following link: www.afghanwarnews.info/assessment-reports.htm. The current 1225 report is available on a DoD site at the link below:

www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/1225_Report_Dec_2015_-_Final_20151210.pdf

Bergdahl to Face Court-Martial in Desertion

SGT Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. Army Soldier who deserted his post in Afghanistan, will face a general court-martial charges. He disappeared from his outpost in 2009, was shortly later captured by insurgents, and then held prisoner for five years. The Obama administration set free five high-level Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay for his release in May 2014. A arraignment hearing will be held in the future at Fort Bragg, N.C. The presiding general officer, General Abrams, is probably putting his career in jeopardy. Any consideration for command after this decision by him will be likely be looked at unkindly by the Obama administration. Bergdahl is currently still in the Army and assigned to Joint Base San Antonio, Texas at a desk job. Read more in "Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to face most serious kind of court-martial in Army desertion case", The Washington Post, December 14, 2015.

A Shattered Life. One man who was severely injured during an attempt to find and rescue Bergdahl provides some background on just how costly the Army deserter's actions were to him. (Stars and Stripes, Dec 22, 2015).

Female Suicide Bombers

In early December 2015 a woman in Afghanistan blew herself up after being stopped at a checkpoint in eastern Nangarhar province. She killed her three children and a member of the ANDSF. The number of women involved in suicide bombings has increased across the globe in places like Afghanistan, Africa, Iraq, and Syria. Kathleen Turner, a LTC in the U.S. Army currently serving as an Army War College Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, examines this vital issue in "Femme Fatale: The Rise of Female Suicide Bombers", War on the Rocks, December 14, 2015.

Afghan Air Force Update

A-29 Tucanos to Arrive. Afghanistan will be getting a COIN airframe - the A-29 Tucano - to assist in the never-ending and escalating threat posed by the insurgents. The Afghan Air Force (AAF) will soon receive 4 light attack aircraft in January 2016. The long-delayed program will be a significant boost to the AAF - which has been lacking in air support capability since the U.S. has withdraw the bulk of its Army and Air Force airframes. It took the USAF a long time to award the contract (Congress interfered as usual in addition to the USAF bureaucracy) and get the program up and running. But then . . . we have only been fighting this war since 2001. Read "Afghan Air Force expecting to receive 4 light attack aircraft in January", Khaama Press, December 22, 2015. See also "After Delays, A-29 Attack Aircraft to arrive in Afghanistan in 2016", Military.com, December 28, 2015.

Afghan A-29 Pilots Trained - or at Least Some of Them. Eight (or nine, depending on which USAF press release you read) Afghan Air Force pilots just completed (Dec 15) almost a year's worth of training on the A-29 aircraft at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia (U.S.). There would have been two more but in the early part of December, just prior to graduation, two of the prospective pilots left base and disappeared. (Some news reports now say they were maintenance personnel). I presume they have crossed over into Canada or have found employment washing dishes in a D.C. Afghan restaurant. Along with the graduating pilots are twelve maintainers that also completed training. The crews are expected to be ready for combat operations at the beginning of the spring fighting season. More pilot training is expected to take place in the future. Read more in "First Afghan A-29 pilots, maintainers finish training", Air Force Times, December 22, 2015.

Mi 25 Attack Helicopter Arrives. India has decided to help out the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) with some counterinsurgency aircraft as well. It decided - just a few months ago in November 2015 - to provide four of the extremely effective COIN helicopters to the Afghans and one has reached Kabul already. Contrast that with the plodding of the U.S. Air Force in the A-29 program! Three more of the Mi 25's will soon arrive. The Mi-25 come equipped with machine guns, rocket and grenade launchers. Earlier in the year the Indians provided three Cheetal utility helicopters. (The Economic Times, Dec 22, 2015). For one observer, Michael Kugelman, this apparent shift by the Indian government to provide military arms speaks volumes. Read "The most important arms deal you've never heard of", War on the Rocks, December 22, 2015.

Air Power Turning the Tide? Some are heartened by the addition of more aircraft to the AAF inventory. The added capability will provide better close air support to the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police. I am not so sure. Afghanistan's security problems are more related to poor leadership, corruption, lack of cross-pillar coordination, and a horribly ineffective and divided government. A few additional airframes that probably won't fly much because of maintenance problems won't make that much difference. But it is a new year - let's be optimistic! Read "Air Power Could Turn Tide in Favor of Afghan Forces in 2016", Voice of America, December 31, 2015.

Commentary

Gen Campbell on NATO's Commitment and Performance of ANDSF. COMRS or Commander Resolute Support has provided us with his perspective (think positive) on the situation in Afghanistan. He acknowledges that over the past year the persistence of the Taliban, growth of ISIS, continuing presence of al-Qaida, and insurgents pushed by a Pakistan-offensive into Afghanistan have presented challenges to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). Yet he points to ability of the ANDSF to roll back Taliban gains (I guess he is ignoring places like Helmand, Bakdakshan, Nuristan, and other provinces), the formation of a new government (yes, he means the dysfunctional National Unit Government known as "NUG"), and the initiatives of the Afghan government and security forces to address corruption (Ummm, SMH), promote human rights and gender equality (which ISAF and now RS says about the Afghans each and every year). All in all this end of year pep talk includes all the important phrases such as "continuing improvement", "remain optimistic", "the insurgents cannot win militarily", etc. This assessment was issued just a week or so prior to six U.S. personnel being killed within the outskirts of the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan. Read "Commitment to Afghan National Defense and Security Forces is Working", Defense News, by General John Campbell, December 13, 2015.

Adm Stavridis on Afghanistan. The retired Admiral - now working at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy as "Dean", tells us that all is not lost in Afghanistan and he recommends 5 steps we should take to improve the situation. I think he is overly optimistic and somewhat influenced by the holiday spirit. (The World Post, Dec 23, 2015).

"Losing the War at Every Level". Anthony Cordesman injects some reality into the assessment of the Afghan conflict in his report entitled "Afghanistan a Year After Transition: Losing the War at Every Level", Center for Strategic & International Studies, December 22, 2015.

The Aftermath of Kunduz. Residents of Kunduz now live in constant fear that the Taliban will come back, retaking the city (if only for just days), and wreaking havoc once again. Read more in "Afghanistan: After Kunduz", by Patricia Gossman, The Diplomat, December 16, 2015.

Afghanistan - Another 30 Years War? Mark Thompson, writing for Time.com (Dec 22, 2015) says we might be in for another 15 years of conflict in Afghanistan. Read "Fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan Echoes the 30 Years War".

An Assessment & Recommendations. Michael O'Hanlon gives us his take on the current situation and proscribes the way forward (what he would do if King) in "Why Americans Are Still Dying in Afghanistan", Politico Magazine, December 22, 2015. (Caution: Cheerleader at work!). Read an article by O'Hanlon entitled "Afghanistan - the case for staying", USA Today, December 28, 2015. (More of the same). O'Hanlon does, however, point out that we should maintain TAAC's at each of the six ANA corps as well as some selected brigades. Good insight to pick up on that and spot on. Why we pulled our brigade level Security Force Assistance (SFA) teams off is a mystery. And to pull the corps level advisory platforms off of the 203rd and 215th ANA corps is simply bewildering!

Essay on Ground Combat. The U.S. has an effective military that can fight extremely well in conflicts such as Desert Storm and the initial weeks of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It has not done so well in conflicts that are essentially irregular, hybrid, or insurgent in nature (as in Afghanistan). David E. Johnson, a historian with RAND Corporation, provides us with his thoughts in "Ground Combat", The Cipher Brief, December 20, 2015.

Rule of Law Culture. A 320-page publication and practical guide by the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) entitled Towards a Rule of Law Culture explores effective responses to justice and security challenges. (USIP, Washington, DC, December 2015).

What of the Taliban? Chayankika Saxena, a research associate at the Society for Policy Studies in New Delhi, provides her assessment of the current state of the Taliban - to include aspects including peace talks, ISIS, Pakistan, Helmand province, public support, and more. Read more in "What has become of Taliban in Afghanistan?", South Asia Monitor, December 29, 2015.

What is BPC? The U.S. has military members spread across the globe in an attempt to increase the security and counterterrorism capabilities of our allies. This type of mission has been called many different names to include Foreign Internal Defense (FID), Counterinsurgency (COIN), Security Cooperation (SC), Security Force Assistance (SFA), and many more. Each has its own niche to fill although the terms could really be interchangeable. One such term in 'Building Partner Capacity' or BPC. Read an explanation of BPC in What is "Building Partner Capacity?": Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report, December 18, 2015. This 64-page report is posted on the website of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). Pages 20-23 specifically address BPC in Afghanistan from 2001-2015.

www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R44313.pdf

UW - Can the U.S. Government and Military Accept It? Dave Maxwell, a retired SF officer and now Associate Director of the Center for Security Studies in the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University, is one of the Special Force's community's foremost experts on Unconventional Warfare. In this article he talks about the recent passage of the NDAA of 2016 and verbiage in it that proscribes a more robust involvement of the govt and military in UW and counter-UW activities. Read "Congress has Embraced Unconventional Warfare: Will the US Military and the Rest of the US Government?", Small Wars Journal, December 29, 2015.

India-Pakistan Detente - Good for Afghanistan? Colin Cookman has penned an article entitled "How India and Pakistan Detente Could Carry Over into Afghanistan", World Politics Review, December 21, 2015. He examines the possibilities - but let's not hold our breath.

Afghanistan's Various Challenges. "Security in Afghanistan deteriorated in 2015, while the national government struggles to promote national unity and economic development". New Europe provides an analysis in this Dec 23, 2015 article.

CVE and Gender Inequality. Julia Santucci, she works women's issues at the State Department, has penned an article entitled "Countering Violent Extremism Means Countering Gender Inequality", War on the Rocks, December 16, 2015. Not so sure there really is a connection; but she seems intent on spreading the message.

Don't Abandon Afghanistan. Amb. Ron Neumann, Vanda Felbab-Brown, and David Sedney collaborate on a piece in Foreign Policy (Dec 22, 2015) encouraging the U.S. to stay the course. Read "Now is not the time to abandon Afghanistan".

Army War College. Adam Davidson recently spent time in a classroom at the United States Army War College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Read his observations in "Rebuilding the Middle Class the Army Way", The New York Times Magazine, December 15, 2015.

Intelligence News

Logo of the NDS

An examination of the story behind the resignation in early December 2015 of the chief of the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) will point to the discord found within the National Unity Government (NUG) and the divide between those who favor increased dialogue and reconciliation (some call it appeasement) with the Pakistan government and those who accuse Pakistan as the source of all problems with the insurgency (which, of course, they are!). The NDS chief resigned at the same time that President Ghani was in Islamabad attempting to reopen the dialogue with Pakistan and re-start the postponed peace talks that would resolve the conflict with the Taliban. Thomas Ruttig of the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) provides this analysis for us in Political Cleavages over Pakistan: The NDS chief's farewell, December 23, 2015.

CIA and Tora Bora 2001. Gary Berntsen, the CIA head of operations for eastern Afghanistan in 2001, recounts the battle of Tora Bora, missed opportunities, and inability of DoD to react to quick-changing situations. Read "Remembering the battle of Tora Bora in 2001", PRI, December 22, 2015.

CIA's Top Stories of 2015. The Central Intelligence Agency has listed its top stories for the past year. Jedburghs, Area 51, Saigon, William F. Buckley, research tools, and more.

Task Force Longhorn. A short article published on Army.mil tells us about the success that the members of the 303rd Military Intelligence Battalion, 504th Military Intelligence Brigade has been having since they deployed to Afghanistan in September 2015. The Fort Hood Soldiers report to Task Force ODIN - a theater-wide military intelligence team supporting U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. The task force's multi-functional teams or MFTs help facilitate actionable intelligence at the lowest echelon. The MFTs are comprised of human intelligence, signal intelligence, and analysts that provide a multi-disciplined approach to intelligence exploitation. Read more in "Task force already successful in Afghanistan intel mission", www.army.mil, December 15, 2015.

Got a TS Clearance? The Chinese are the only ones that have you on a database. Doyle Quiggle gives us something to think about in "The Cognitive Delusions of a Top Secret Clearance", Small Wars Journal, December 26, 2015.

Russia & Taliban Sharing Info? A CNN report says that the Taliban and Russia are sharing intelligence about the Islamic State. Russia is worried about jihadists based in Russia's Caucasus region and former Soviet republics going off to fight in Syria . . . and then returning. The article explains the many reasons that (if true) Russia would cooperate with the Taliban. (CNN, Dec 25, 2015).

Inside the TAA Mission in Afghanistan

The columnist Franz-Stefan Gady provides us with an inside view of the NATO Train, Advise, and Assist Mission in Afghanistan. He spent some time with the TAAC-South advisory team in Kandahar learning how they conduct their mission. Of note are his observations about the significant use of Guardian Angels to prevent or mitigate insider attacks by Afghan security force members, the reduced footprint of the advisory effort, and the difficulty of how to measure the effectiveness of the Afghan security forces. In addition, the article stresses the importance of the effort in eight areas of focus - called the "8 Essential Functions" by Resolute Support HQs. It is interesting to note that one of the advisors profiled is a 1LT - mostly likely (unless former enlisted) on his first tour of duty in combat - and advising Afghan officers senior to him in rank, age, experience and with many years of combat in Afghanistan. That, of course, says something about the U.S. advisor selection process! Read "How NATO Advises Afghanistan's National Security Forces", The Diplomat, December 22, 2015.

SOF News

ANASF Trains ALP Recruit

SOF and Helmand Province. The fight for Helmand province is still ongoing despite the end of the fighting season. The Taliban control a number of the provincial districts (see what constitutes 'control of district') and the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) are barely holding on to some district centers. The United States has supported the ANDSF with air strikes and with SOF teams on the ground working with Afghan SOF units. Read more in "Afghan Province, Teetering to the Taliban, Draws In Extra U.S. Forces", The New York Times, December 13, 2015.

Book Review - Relentless Strike. Dr. J. Paul De B. Taillon reviews a book about the secret history of the Joint Special Operations Command. (Mackenzie Institute, Dec 1, 2015).

Tip of the Spear - Dec 15. The latest issue of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Tip of the Spear magazine has been posted online.
www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/28078?sub_id=43948

Homeless Man Lives in 3rd SFGA Barracks. According to one news report - "Almost Valor: Homeless Man Gets Away Living in the 3rd Special Forces Group Barracks as Fake Soldier", SOFSPACE.com, December 22, 2015 - a civilian got a free ride for a few months living rent free (no doubt he had a meal card for the dining facility as well). Not so hard to do. Just square away your uniform, buzz cut your hair, be on time for morning formations, and the SGMs will leave you alone. Kind of reminds me of my four-month long backpacking trip through Europe in the 70s - I ran out of money at the end of the trip and spent some time in the transient barracks at Vicenza, Italy. Nice place.

UW Fills Gap b/t Peace and War. David Maxwell, a retired SF colonel explains Unconventional Warfare to us and says we need to develop a strategy to counter UW being conducted by our adversaries. Read his article "Congress Has Embraced Unconventional Warfare: Will the US Military and the Rest of the US Government?", Small Wars Journal, December 29, 2015. Learn more about unconventional warfare.

SOF and Global Deployments. Special Operations forces have been deployed to many countries over the past several decades. This has not changed under the Obama administration - especially given that the Global War on Terrorism (yes, some folks still use the term GWOT) has expanded in the last decade. Read more in "Obama's 'Boots on the Ground': U.S. Special Forces Are Sent to Tackle Global Threats", The New York Times, December 27, 2015.

Origins of Women in SOF History. A profile of a women who worked for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. The OSS was the fore-runner to the CIA and U.S. Army Special Forces. An 8-min video posted on YouTube.com on December 9, 2015.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIFW3xEYvvw

SOF and the Push for Women in Combat. A RAND study conducted on behalf of USSOCOM found that 85% of SOF operators were not in favor of fully integrating women onto the SOF teams. Many advocates of the push to have women fully integrated into special operations combat units are discounting the views of these SOF operators saying they lack experience with working with women and that they are only interested in preserving their "male-only domain". This viewpoint sells these very experienced SOF operators short. In fact, the SOF community was way ahead of most of the military with its use of female Cultural Support Teams (CSTs) as enablers with Special Force ODAs, SEAL platoons, and MARSOC units in Afghanistan. Read more on this issue in "Pentagon's women-in-combat push faces chilly headwinds", The Hill Blog, December 30, 2015.

More on Women and Combat Arms. It appears that the move to fully integrate women into the combat arms will see lots of attention put on SOF units. Read "How Not to Integrate Females into Combat Arms", Small Wars Journal, December 30, 2015. And what about the 'draft thing'? Is it time for women to register for the draft - I mean equal rights and equal opportunity should equate to equal responsibility.

JSOC Secrets. The Joint Special Operations Command, commonly called JSOC, is busy around the world. The personnel of the secret and lethal organization work in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, and other conflict-ridden areas. Read more in "The not-so-secret history of JSOC", The Washington Post, December 15, 2015.

Security News

ANASF prepare for wpns training

Attack on Spanish Embassy Guesthouse. Some more fidelity on the attack on Friday, December 11th. The guesthouse, belonging occupied by Spanish Embassy personnel in the Sher Pur part of Kabul was attacked with a car bomb against the gate and the gunmen rushed inside. The event took place for many hours until the last gunman was killed.

India - Pak - Afg Meeting. Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah met with the Pakistan COAS Raheel Sharif in Kabul on Sunday, December 27th. This follows a flurry of meetings involving the head of the India government who first visted Kabul and then Islamabad. Are peace talks in the air? Maybe. But I doubt much will come of it. Read more on the recent meetings and prospects for peace in "The Observer view on India's role in bringing peace to Afghanistan", The Guardian, December 27, 2015.

French Restaurant Bombed. On January 1st a restaurant / guest house (Le Jardin) in Kabul's Qalai Fatullah area (Taimani PD4) was attacked; two people killed including a 10 year old child killed - about 15 others wounded It is in the vicinity of many foreign embassies and government buildings.

Bombers Experience a Premature Explosion. Three (maybe four) bombers had a bad day when their truck bomb blew up ahead of schedule in the Zer-e-Koh area of Herat on Saturday, January 2nd. (Khaama Press, Jan 2, 2016).

Child Suicide Bombers. "Terrorists in Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries are training children to blow themselves up in suicide bomb attacks. Minors are kidnapped or sold and then taken to terrorist training camps". Read more in "Children used as suicide bombers in Central Asia", Deutsche Welle, December 30, 2015.

Prisoners Freed by ANDSF. Afghan Special Forces freed dozens of prisoners (as many as 59) from a Taliban jail in Nahr-e-Saraj district, Helmand province the evening of January 1st. The freed were 37 soldiers, seven policemen, and the remainder were civilians. (Radio Free Europe, Jan 2, 2016).

Al-Qaeda Re-emerges. Al-Qaeda camps seem to be sprouting up in Afghanistan and there are worries that they will become breeding grounds for more attacks against the U.S. Read "As U.S. Focuses on ISIS and the Taliban, Al Qaeda Re-emerges", The New York Times, December 29, 2015. Read a history of U.S. action against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan over the years in "ISAF raids against al Qaeda and allies in Afghanistan 2007-2014", by Bill Roggio and Patrick Megahan, The Long War Journal, May 30, 2014.

Bagram Long-Term US Base? Some reports say that the Pentagon is looking to keep Bagram Air Field as a US base beyond 2017. This huge US base located 40 klics north of Kabul has been one of the principle transit hubs, logistical centers, and airfields (for air support) since 2002. The US Special Operations forces continue to operate from this base as well. Drones will likely be launched from here when Kandahar and Jalalabad shut down. (Tolo News, Dec 29, 2015).

Campbell: Delay Withdrawal. General Campbell, the commander of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, would like to delay the US troop withdrawal for as long as possible. (The Hill Blog, Dec 30, 2015).

Canadian General (Rtd) Speaks Out. A retired Canadian general says the Taliban's recent victories in Afghanistan could reverse progress made by western armies during more than a decade of fighting. "We're all holding our breath". (Edmonton Sun, Dec 28, 2015).

ANA Cadets Graduate from Indian Military Academy. 31 Afghan Army cadets graduated from the Indian Military Academy in December. Training the Afghan Army cadets is part of India's rehabilitation support towards the Afghan security forces. (Khaama Press, Dec 13, 2015).

Afghan War News Snippets

EU Providing 12 Million Euros. Afghanistan faces a critical humanitarian crisis as a result of the intensifying conflict. The European Union is upping its contribution for humanitarian aid by 12 million euros bringing the total humanitarian aid to 40 million euros for 2015. (European Commission, Dec 22, 2015).

Taliban Leadership Struggles. There seems to be three distinct groups of the Afghan Taliban emerging and the divide is going away soon. Read "Dueling Fatwas, More Dissension as Afghan Taliban Leadership Struggle Intensifies", Gandhara Blog, December 22, 2015.

Sexual Assault in Afghanistan. Danielle Moylan writes "When It Comes to Sexual Assault, Afghanistan Is All Talk and No Action", Foreign Policy, December 21, 2015.

Peace Talks? Looks like Afghanistan, Pakistan and others will make another attempt at peace talks. Reports say that another round will take place in Pakistan on/about January 11th. China and the United States may (will) also participate. (Radio Free Europe, Jan 2, 2016).

Georgian Deployment Program (GDP). The GDP is a multi-year training program with the goal to increase the interoperability between the Georgian Army and Resolute Support Mission (RSM). The training consists of six six-month rotations designed to train six Georgian infantry battalions. Read more in a contract announcement about driver training for the GDP-RMS project. (GovTribe.com, Dec 22, 2015).

Earthquake - Again. A 6.2 earthquake hit Afghanistan in late December 2015 causing about a dozen injuries. (Telegraph, Dec 25, 2015). A second earthquake was experienced in Kabul on January 2nd - measuring 5.3.

Nuristan - A Remote Region. Mujib Mashal writes about a remote and isolated province in northeastern Afghanistan in "Afghan Province Tucked in Mountains Lies Beyond Reach of Aid and Time", The New York Times, December 25, 2015.

Islamic State Radio. The IS militants based in eastern Afghanistan has launched their own radio station that features a 90-minute long program daily show entitled the "Voice of the Caliphate". It is in Pashto and reaches out to a wide audience within the province. Naturally the Afghan government is not pleased. Watch a two-minute long video by Radio Free Europe, December 22, 2015.

Nomads in Pamir Region. The Kyrgyz of the Pamir Mountains live in three different countries in a remote part of the world - Afghanistan, China, and Tajikistan. Learn more in "Modernity of Ancient Nomads in Pamir of Tajikstan", Radio Free Europe, December 21, 2015.

Former TAAC-South Cdr to 10th Mtn. BG Paul Bontrager is heading to Fort Drum, NY to be deputy commanding general for the 10th Mountain Division (Light). (Defense.gov, Dec 15, 2015).

Corruption. The country of Afghanistan is no doubt one of the most corrupt in the world. This culture of corruption is compounded with the billions of dollars that the U.S. and international community has pumped into the Afghan economy through aid and military expenditures. It is a small victory when someone actually gets charged with corruption. Read "U.S. Charges Afghan Businessman With Bribing for Contracts", Radio Free Europe, December 30, 2015.

TAPI and Peace. Barnett Rubin writes about the importance of the TAPI pipeline project and the impact it will have on peace in the region and Afghanistan's economy. While everyone applauds wildly about this seemingly important economic event some wonder how it will be built and secured in a disintegrating security situation. President Ghani's promise of protecting the pipeline's route through Afghanistan with 7,000 security personnel is ambitious but untenable. Read more in "The TAPI Pipeline and Paths to Peace in Afghanistan", The New Yorker, December 30, 2015.

Bad Year for Ghani. Afghanistan is experiencing weakness and disunity in both government and insurgent ranks. Some believe that President Ghani's first year did not go well. Read "The Guardian view on Afghanistan: a bad year for Ashraf Ghani", The Guardian, December 30, 2015.

Landai Season. Fazal Muzhary writes about this late fall / early winter traditional food feast that takes place in rural parts of Afghanistan in Landai Season: a delicacy and a feast in rural Afghanistan, Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), December 30, 2015.

Data Book on Gender. The World Bank has published a handy pocket guide for users interested in gender statistics. This country by country reference could be helpful to those working gender issues in Afghanistan. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23436

UN Security Council Debate. The Afghan ambassador to the United Nations, H.E. Mahmoud Saikal, addressed the UN Security Council in December about the situation in Afghanistan. You can listen (and watch) his 18-minute long address at the following link on YouTube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywV6Iv-Yl18

USAID and CVE. Where does the fight against violent extremism fit within the broad spectrum of development? USAID tells you in a recent report dated September 28th, 2015.

New TAAC-North Cdr. The Train, Advise, Assist Command - North based at Camp Marmal near Mazer-e Sharif in northern Afghanistan has a new commander. A quick look at his bio indicates that this is his first deployment to Afghanistan. Hmmmm. Perhaps it was just an oversight and he has completed five six-month tours to the Graveyard of Empires? Or are the Germans falling into the American practice of selecting officers to command in Afghanistan for their career development rather than selecting officers for their vast knowledge and experience of Afghanistan's politics, culture, tribes, ethnic groups, language, history, and many years of conflict.

Turkish Labs & Afghan Opium. The director of Russia's Federal Narcotics Control Service has said that Turkish laboratories are processing Afghan opium for deliveries to Europe. According to Russia's Sputnik news (real dependable source there) the drug cargo sometimes travels along northern Afghanistan into Iran and then on to Turkey. Once processed it finds its way into Europe through the Balkans. (Khaama Press, Dec 22, 2015).

Guest Bloggers 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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Thursday, December 31, 2015

Happy New Year!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Short Break

Unfortunately there will be a small break in posting on the Afghan War News Blog and with the emailing of the Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter. I am beginning a couple of short-term work projects that will consume most of my free time over the next few weeks. In addition, I have some traveling requirements as well. And, of course, the holiday season is upon us - putting demands on any remaining free time. I anticipate a return to blogging and publishing the weekly newsletter just after the New Year.

Best regards, Staff at Afghan War News Blog

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter - 13 Dec 2015

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.

Bergdahl In the News Again

Beau Bergdahl - His Side of the Story. The U.S. Army deserter who was quickly captured by the Taliban within hours of leaving his outpost has been charged with desertion. He awaits his sentence which should be coming within months. In the meantime he has decided to tell his side of the story. Seems he wanted to be like Jason Bourne . . . ahhhh . . . that explains it all. "The Serial" - a podcast series - is his venue. The first episode was released this week. https://serialpodcast.org

House Report on Prisoner Swap. A recent report by the House of Representative's Armed Services Committee has concluded that the Obama administration broke the law in swapping five Taliban members for Army SGT Bowe Bergdahl and then went out of its way to hide the negotiations as they were happening. (The Hill Blog, Dec 10, 2015).

Analysis of Bergdahl Prisoner Swap. Shane Harris and Nancy Youssef take a look at the ramifications of the swap of Bowe Bergdahl (U.S. Army deserter) for five Taliban fighters imprisoned at Guantanamo. See "Congress: Bowe Bergdahl Swap Was FUBAR", The Daily Beast, December 7, 2015.

Rule of Law in Afghanistan

Video - RoL and BG Mitch Chitwood. The leader of Essential Function 3 at NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan is assisting the Afghan National Security Forces in aligning their effort with the rule of law, increased transparency, and the fight against corruption. In this 2-min long video posted on DVIDS on December 9, 2015 the general tells us about his job and the progress being made. For once it sounds like we got the right advisor in the right job! Many advisors are poorly selected and trained for their posting while working at the MoD and MoI.
www.dvidshub.net/video/441465/resolute-supports-essential-function-3-rule-law

International Anti-Corruption Day - Dec 9th. The United Nations led an international campaign to focus on how corruption affects education, health, justice, democracy, prosperity and development. I wonder if any progress was made in stemming corruption in Afghanistan?
www.anticorruptionday.org

Commentary

Paper on NTM-A. Nick Barley has penned an informative history about the training of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). He traces the training programs implemented by the U.S. and NATO partners in "The NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan: A Game-Changer; Lest We Forget", Small Arms Journal, December 5, 2015.

"The Breadwinner". An Afghan film is receiving support from the American actress Angelina Jolie. (Khaama Press, Dec 6, 2015).

Moscow: From Kabul to Damascus. Ryan Evans reviews the history of the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and puts the Russian intervention in Syria today in perspective. He says not to worry but keep a careful eye on the big bad bear. See his (very long) analysis in "Moscow's Clients From Kabul to Damascus: Strength and Strategy in International Politics", War on the Rocks, December 9, 2015.

Countering Violent Extremism (CVE). The new catch-word for those fighting terrorism is CVE. Some are discrediting it as a flawed concept while others say that it gets to the root causes of terrorism. The term is also a factor in the political arena as well. Shannon N. Green, a senior fellow and director of the Human Rights Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. provides her perspective on CVE in Preventing Violent Extremism: Promise and Pitfalls, CSIS, December 2, 2015.

Divisions Within the Taliban? Recent reports of shooting of Taliban leader reveals serious divisions within the Taliban. See "The Implications of the Taliban Shootout", The Diplomat, December 9, 2015.

Afghan Health Gains? Questionable. Rod Nordland of the NYT writes that the reported gains in health care for women in Afghanistan are under scrutiny. Read "Reported Gains in Afghan Maternal Health Are Found to Be Implausible", The New York Times, December 4, 2015.

PTSD and War Contractors. "Despite increased rates of post-traumatic stress among private contractors, little has been discussed about prevention and treatment. More and more contractors entering into combat environments are experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress when they return home". See "Why We Should Be Talking About Military Contractors With PTSD", Task & Purpose, December 9, 2015.

Time to Leave Afghanistan? Tom Mockaitis, an international security analyst and military historian, thinks the time has arrived to adjust our strategy and objectives. (The Huffington Post, December 26, 2015).

Dismal Mood in Kabul. A writer compares his visit to Kabul in 2008 with a more recent visit. The situation for many of the city residents is not hopeful. Almost everyone knows someone who has fled to Europe. Read more in "Desperation Rules Afghanistan", by Sanjay Kumar, The Diplomat, December 10, 2015.

Looking at Afghanistan Conundrum. Dr. Manoj Kuma Mishra, the program coordinator of the School of International Studies at Ravenshaw University in India provides his thoughts on Afghanistan in "Evolving a Coordinated Response to the Afghan Conundrum", Eurasia Review, December 10, 2015.

SSR, Gender Equality, and Local Ownership. ". . . it is increasingly recognized that mainstreaming gender issues and promoting gender equality in SSR programming is essential to success and is a key factor in developing meaningful local ownership." Read more about gender issues and Security Sector Reform (SSR) in "Security Sector Reform and the Paradoxical Tension between Local Ownership and Gender Equality", Security Sector Reform Resource Centre, December 2015.

Research on Women and Terrorism. Laura Sjoberg has penned an essay entitled The Women of Daesh: Thinking about a Decade of Research on Women, Gender, and Terrorism, E-International Relations, December 6, 2015.

General Order No. 1. Time to Update this asinine regulation. Finally a dose of common sense from an observer! While all our allies in Afghanistan can have a brew or two daily members of the American military can only look on with envy. Read "Reevaluating General Order 1X", Small Wars Journal, December 5, 2015.

Islamic State in Afghanistan

The Islamic State has replaced the Taliban in Nangarhar province as the number threat to residents and the government security forces. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) say that "Daesh" is better equipped and more motivated than the Taliban. The Achin district is especially at risk. The IS fighters are a combination of Pakistani nationals and other ethnic groups to include Uzbeks, Chechens, and Uighurs. There are also former Taliban members who have picked up the ISIS flag. It is estimated that this area has up to 1,600 Islamic State fighters. Read more in a news report by Josh Smith - "Afghans battle Islamic State to stalemate in east", Stars and Stripes, December 8, 2015.

ISIS in Baghlan Province. Local officials in Baghlan province are concerned over reports that Daesh militants are recruiting in the area. Some officials say that ISIS fighters are moving their families into the province to establish a foothold. Read "Daesh Deployment in Baghlan Triggers Alarm Among Residents", Tolo News, December 10, 2015.

Resiliency of ISIS in Afghanistan. One observer sees ISIS as a small problem that could get big quick. He advocates that "An immediate counter-strategy is needed to avoid inevitable high costs if the group is allowed to grow and develop. This requires a deeper understanding of the group's own dynamics; ISIS cannot be effectively countered unless it is understood properly". The writer, is a Danish diplomat serving as EU Special Representative / Head of EU Delegation to Afghanistan. He is a former Danish Ambassador to Afghanistan. Read "We Got ISIS Wrong in Syria. Let's Get it Right in Afghanistan", The Huffington Post Blog, December 10, 2015.

ISIS vs Taliban. Bilal Sarwary reporting from Lashkar Gah says that "ISIS is stealing fighters from the Taliban in Afghanistan", The Independent, December 8, 2015. The Islamic State is luring fighters away with money and a unified message in Helmand province. At the same time the state of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces is dire with reports saying that 40% of the Afghan National Police (ANP) is fictitious - with the salaries going to senior ANP officers.

SOF News

Gen Votel to CENTCOM?. The Internet continues to spread the word that the current USSOCOM commander is on the short list to succeed General Austin at Central Command. The move would be unusual as Votel only recently assumed command at USSOCOM in mid-2014. He would be an excellent choice, however. The U.S. is not engaged in a conventional fight in the region - Iran is busy with Iraq and Syria; so it is less inclined to confront the U.S. in naval disputes (let's hope), and SOF seems to be the flavor of the day for the Obama administration in resolving disputes and conflicts in the Middle East. Read more in "Socom's Votel would be good choice to lead Centcom", Tampa Bay Online, December 7, 2015.

Special Forces for Iraq/Syria - PR Ploy or Meaningful Deployment? A defense analyst, Anthony Cordesman, comments on the deployment of SOF to the Middle East in light of the lack of a credible U.S. strategy and plans to create effective Iraqi and Syrian forces. He worries the SF Soldiers will be a political tool rather than an effective force in a political game on the part of the Obama administration. Read "More Special Forces for Iraq and Syria: Tactical Asset or Strategic Tokenism", by Anthony Cordesman, Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), December 3, 2015.

DoD "Quiet" on Commando Force for Iraq. The 'specialized expeditionary targeting force' that will take the fight to ISIS in Iraq and Syria will be positioned to gather intelligence, conduct raids, free hostages in Iraq when partnered with Iraqi forces. In addition, it will conduct unilateral hit-and-run raids into Syria. Beyond that, the Defense Department is not saying much more. Some observers believe the small force of 100-200 commandos can make a difference while others say it smacks of the usual Obama strategic incrementalism. The special operations force, although small in number, will probably enjoy significant close air support, drone coverage, and intelligence reach-back to CENTCOM, USSOCOM and JSOC. (think of the operations profiled in the book Relentless Strike). Read more in "US keeps wraps on new commando force for Iraq", The Sacramento Bee, December 10, 2015.

DoDIG Fails to Protect War Hero. LTC Amerine, a war hero and Green Beret, was unjustly victimized by the FBI and the U.S. Army. He was denied his retirement and threatened with a court martial for relaying to a member of Congress how badly the U.S. hostage recovery effort is managed. One aspect of the criticism that LTC Amerine offers is that the Bergdahl prisoner swap undercut ongoing efforts that would have released Bergdahl and other American hostages. The Good News? The DoD IG is resigning! Read more in "How the System Went After a War Hero: Jason Amerine Goes to Washington", War on the Rocks, December 10, 2015.

AC-130 Air Attack on Hospital - Conflicting Accounts. A recent news report says that the U.S. Special Forces who called in the air strike on the hospital in Kunduz city believed the Taliban were using it as a command center. To some observers there continues to be a gap in what is being reported and what really happened. Perhaps we will really never know. (Military Times, Dec 8, 2015).

France Sending 300 SF to Congo. France (a country that seems to have a far more active and robust counterterrorism policy than the United States) is sending 300 of its Special Forces to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to provide training to the Congolese Army to hunt down and neutralize the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces in the eastern part of the DRC.

Intelligence News

Afghan Intelligence Chief Resigns. The chief of the Afghan spy agency - National Directorate of Security or NDS - has resigned amid policy differences with President Ghani. Rahmatullah Nabil submitted his resignation on Thursday, December 10, 2015. Nabil's deputy -Massoud Andrabi - has been appointed as acting chief. One constant source of friction between the NDS chief and President Ghani is the approach to Pakistan. Afghanistan's neighbor has been supporting the various insurgent groups for years - in the belief that an unstable Afghanistan is much better for Pakistan than a strong country that could possibly ally with India and/or make demands on the disposition of the Durand Line. Mr. Nabil has been heading the NDS for about five years. See "Afghanistan intelligence chief resigns amid row", BBC News, December 10, 2015. Read also "Afghan Spy Chief Quits After Denouncing Talks With Pakistan", The New York Times, December 10, 2015. See also a report from Khaama Press, Dec 11, 2015.

Problems with Drones. Thomas Ricks writes about "5 big problems with the drone programs" in Foreign Policy, December 10, 2015.

LTG (Ret) Flynn to Write Book. A high-ranking U.S. Army intelligence officer, Michael T. Flynn, will soon be writing a book on how to win the global war against radical Islam. Flynn served as the intelligence officer for the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), as the G2 for ISAF in Afghanistan, and is the a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He is at odds with the Obama administration in their handling the fight against Islamic terrorism and the conflicts in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Read "Michael T. Flynn Inks Deal With St. Martin's Press", GalleyCat, December 9, 2015.

Security News

A-29 Super Tocano

A-29's Soon to Deploy - Minus a Few Pilots. Two Afghan Air Force (AAF) pilots who have been training at with the 81st Fighter Squadron at Moody Air Force Base in the United States since February are now missing. While they pose no threat to the U.S. (let's hope) the AAF is now short two very valuable pilots for their not-yet-introduced and very-late-in-deploying counterinsurgency close air support planes. The pilots are probably happier washing dishes in the kitchen of a D.C. restaurant than flying around Afghanistan getting shot at. (USA Today, Dec 9, 2015).

USAF Mission in Afg. The Diplomat's Franz-Stafan Gady is currently in Afghanistan reporting on the ongoing war against militants in the country. His latest report is "Afghanistan: US Air Force's Mission Has Not Changed" dated December 11, 2015.

Info on B-1 Bomber. Wesley Morgan writes about the missions of a USAF bomber in Afghanistan (and elsewhere). Read "The B-1 bomber: The underappreciated workhorse of America's air wars", The Washington Post, December 30, 2015.

Kandahar Airport Attacked by Taliban. Insurgents and Afghan security forces battled on Wednesday, Dec 9th after Taliban militants stormed the airport complex in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. As many as 37 people died during the attack with an another 35 plus wounded. Some reports put casualties above 50. The insurgents wore ANDSF uniforms. (Los Angeles Times, Dec 9, 2015). See also "Afghan airport remains closed after Taliban launches daring attack", The Washington Post, December 9, 2015.

Insurgent Groups Duking it Out in Shindand. Rival Taliban factions loyal to Mullah Akhtar Mansour (recently wounded or killed depending on the press report) and Mullah Abdul Rasool have been clashing in a district in Herat province. Go for it!

Spanish Embassy Attacked. Insurgents mounted an attack on Friday, Dec 11th against a guesthouse near the Spanish Embassy in Kabul. Two Spanish policemen and four Afghan police officers were among the dead. The three insurgent attackers were killed. The attack began with a car bomb blast against the gate of the guesthouse. The US Embassy in Kabul issues a statement condemning the attack. Some Twitter accounts say that Norwegian SOF along with Afghan SOF responded, probably the Crisis Response Unit, to the attack. (BBC News, Dec 11, 2015). And "Fighting in Kabul's Diplomatic Quarter Ends, Afghan Officials Say", The New York Times, December 12, 2015.

Taliban Offensive in Helmand Province. The Taliban have made some gains in Helmand province this past fighting season and it appears that the fighting season is still ongoing. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have had trouble holding on to some of the districts in the province. Reportedly Khansheen district has fallen to the Taliban after weeks of seige and intense fighting. Read the plight of villages in Chah-e Anjir village in a news report - "Afghan Village 'A Living Hell' Amid Fighting", Gandhara Blog, December 8, 2015.

Report - Human Terrain System

Dr. Christopher Sims has wrote a 526 page report entitled The Human Terrain System: Operationally Relevant Social Science Research in Iraq and Afghanistan, dated December 2015. The author presents ". . . an examination of the organizational origins of the HTS, and a tactical history delineated through the experiences and insights of former Human Terrain Team social scientists, set against the backdrop of a wider debate in the academy and media on the efficacy and ethicality of the program." The provides an overview of the HTS program and examines the wider debate around social science and the military. This study of the U.S. Army HTS by the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College is the story of civilians conducting social science research in conflict in order to help win the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Note: My personal experience in Afghanistan is that the men and women of the Human Terrain Teams (HTTs) working at the Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) provided extremely helpful advice and information to the warfighters because of their knowledge of the area of operations, culture, and situation. HTTs staff members tended stay in country for a number of years while BCTs rotated in and out every 9-12 months. http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=1308