Afghan War Blog

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter - Nov 6, 2016

Welcome to the Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter. Articles are posted online on the blog and sent out via email newsletter on Sunday morning. We welcome comments, ideas for stories, contributions, and guest writers! Visit our website at www.afghanwarnews.info, follow us on Twitter at @AfghanWarBlog, and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/afghan-war-news.

Special Forces Soldiers KIA in Afghanistan Nov 3, 2016

Two Special Forces Soldiers KIA in Kunduz Battle. Two members of the 10th Special Forces Group died of wounds received during an engagement with the Taliban near the northern city of Kunduz, Afghanistan on November 3, 2016. CPT Andrew Byers and SFC Ryan Gloyer were based at Fort Carson, Colorado - the home base of the 10th SFGA.

Uruzgan Province Under Attack

One of the embattled regions in Afghanistan is the central province of Uruzgan. The Taliban have been focusing on this province for a good part of the summer fighting season. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have lost several bases in the province. One of these bases was a compound for a battalion of the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) - a SWAT-like unit of the Ministry of Interior (MoI). Over 70 ANCOP members surrendered their base to the Taliban. In one week three Afghan Army posts have surrendered to the Taliban. Over twenty police outposts have been abandoned and some Afghan police have joined the Taliban.

The Afghan Army has suffered from heavy casualties, decreased recruitment and problems with retention. The Taliban have focused on Uruzgan province over the past few months; while also going on the offensive in Helmand and Kunduz provinces.

News stories of the fighting in Uruzgan province:
"Taliban Gain Ground in Afghanistan as Soldiers Surrender Their Posts", by Taimoor Shah and Rod Nordland, The New York Times, October 30, 2016.

Aerostats - Providing Force Protection & Intel to the ANA

Photo by Resolute Support Headquarters

At one time in Afghanistan - when there were over 800 large bases and small outposts spread across the country side - one could continually see large white balloons floating overhead. The balloons - more accurately called areostats - had cameras on board that could pan across the ground below out to quite a few miles to observe for enemy activity. Now there are very few aerostats flying. Some are lofted overhead by the United States military at its few remaining bases in Afghanistan (Camp Resolute Support in Kabul, Bagram Air Field, and a few others). What many observers don't realize is that the Afghan National Army (ANA) is now operating its own aerostats (bought and paid for by the U.S. of course).

It took a while for the military intelligence professionals in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and then Resolute Support HQs to figure out that the Afghan National Army would need a capability like the aerostat. One wonders what the intel weanies were thinking about during those long years from 2002 to 2013 or so before plans to field aerostats to the ANA were formulated. For more on this topic read the paragraph below:

"All in all, my impression is that the Pentagon's near complete lack of emphasis on building an intelligence collection and analytic capability for the Afghan military and police is nothing short of pitiful. If the White House and the Pentagon are REALLY serious about giving the Afghan military and police the means to stand on their own and operate independently, this budget does not come close to doing it. The Afghan military and police must have their own well trained and equipped intelligence units if they are to have any chance of performing their missions after U.S. combat forces withdraw next year. Otherwise, the ANA and ANP will remain completely dependent on the U.S. for this vital combat enabler for the foreseeable future." Paragraph from Little Spending on Intelligence Support for Afghan Military in New Budget, Matthew A. Aid, June 1, 2013.

But enough about that - the ANA is now flying its own balloons - although independent news sources provide a dismal accounting on the early efforts to keep them aloft, maintain them, and actually use the balloons for preventing attacks.

Don't despair! We now have a 'good news story' on how successful the Afghan security forces are in using the aerostats brought to you courtesy of a press release by Resolute Support headquarters. Read "With silent guardians, Afghan soldiers protect Kabul", Resolute Support News, November 5, 2016.

Helmand Province Update

Helmand province has been the scene of a heavy onslaught by Taliban forces over the past several months. Most of the districts in the province are held by the insurgents. The provincial capital, Laskar Gah, has been surrounded by the Taliban and government troops have been on the defensive for most of the Summer Campaign 2016. However, one high-ranking government security official believes that the government forces will soon go back on the offensive and push the Taliban out from the recently gained territory. Read more in "Afghan Security Chief Vows To Reclaim Territory From the Taliban", Gandhara Blog (Radio Free Europe), November 1, 2016.

Commentary

U.S. Counterterrorism Policy in Central Asia. An informative paper has been published takes a good look at the threat that foreign fighters posed to Central Asian regimes and provides recommendations for U.S. counterterrorism policy in the region. Published in Strategic Perspectives 21 on October 29, 2016 this tract by four authors is provided by the Center for Strategic Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies of the National Defense University (U.S.). Read "The Return of Foreign Fighters to Central Asia: Implications for U.S. Counterterrorism Policy".

Proxy War in Northern Afghanistan? Ajmal Sohail writes about "The beginning of a new chapter of proxy war in Afghanistan", Modern Diplomacy, November 4, 2016. A unique and different perspective on the U.S. and European involvement in Afghanistan.

Learning from the Vietnam War. One writer, Bill Distler, provides an alternative perspective to our involvement in the Afghan War. He believes we are applying lessons learned in the long-ago conflict to the Afghan conflict. His perspective is certainly not mainstream (and his numbers on how many contractors present in the past and now seem skewed). Read "Finally 'Winning' the Viet Nam War - in Afghanistan", Common Dreams, October 30, 2016.

Afghan Security News

Kunduz CIVCAS Event. An airstrike took place during the recent attack on a Taliban position in Kunduz city where two American Special Forces Soldiers died. The airstrike hit a building(s) where senior Taliban leaders were in - and also some civilians (many children). Some estimates say over 30 civilians were killed. Read more in "U.S. general pledges investigation on Afghan air strike casualties", Reuters, November 5, 2016. See also "NATO and government forces are increasingly responsible for Afghan civilian deaths", The Washington Post, November 3, 2016.

Australian Woman Kidnapped. According to some initial reports (Tolo News) an Australian woman employed by an NGO was kidnapped at gunpoint on Saturday night (5 Nov 2016) in Kabul.

Hand-Holding at FOB Gamberi. Learn a little bit about what it is like to be an advisor to the Afghan National Army's 201st Corps in eastern Afghanistan. See "Texas troops aiding effort to advise Afghan military", My San Antonio, October 31, 2016.

Senior al-Qaida Ldr Killed by Airstrike. The US says that Farouq al-Qahtani, who had long-standing ties with Osama bin Laden, was killed in a precision air strike in October. (The Guardian, November 4, 2016).

ALP, Uprisings, and Militias. In the northern province of Takhar there is a mix of armed groups that exist in addition to the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police. Read more in "Afghanistan tries to clean up its militias, both legal and illegal", LA Times, October 31, 2016.

Green-On-Green Attacks are Up. The occurrence of attacks by members of the Afghan security forces against other members of the Afghan army or police is rising. Read "Wave of Afghan-on-Afghan Insider Attacks Hits Afghan Army", Military.com, October 31, 2016.

Army NCO Considered for MoH. An Army non-commissioned officer is being considered for the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in eastern Afghanistan in 2012. Read "We weren't out there looking for awards", Stars and Stripes, November 4, 2016.

Former Serviceman Dies in Afghanistan. A former Navy SEAL - Brian Hoke - died in Afghanistan. Hoke was from the Leesburg, Virginia ara and a 1996 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He left the military in 2002 and worked for the U.S. State Department with many deployments overseas. He is survived by his wife and three children. Info from "Virginia Serviceman Dies in Afghanistan", NBC Washington.com, October 31, 2016.

Roads of Afghanistan Falling Apart

The U.S. and other nations provided lots of funding for the construction of roads throughout Afghanistan. The improvement of the ring road that traverses the country is one great accomplishment. However, there is a problem. With the withdrawal of Coalition forces the various aid and development groups no longer have oversight (lack of access) on road construction projects and funding for the maintenance of the roads is greatly diminished. So many of the roads built are no longer being maintained. In addition, what little funding earmarked for road maintenance is squandered by the various Afghan ministries responsible for road upkeep. Read more in "The U.S. spent billions building roads in Afghanistan. Now many of them are beyond repair", The Washington Post, October 30, 2016.

Update on Afghan Refugees and Migrants

Many of the migrants and refugees that have left Afghanistan are now returning. A significant number of these people heading back to Afghanistan are being forced to return. Some will be returned involuntarily by Europe (a result of a side agreement made at the Brussels Conference). However, most migrants and refugees will return from the countries of Iran and Pakistan. Many of these refugees and migrants have lived outside of Afghanistan for decades - some documented as refugees by international organizations but others without passports or visas. The numbers of returning migrants and refugees is compounded by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from strife-ridden parts of Afghanistan (Kunduz, Helmand, etc.). Life in Afghanistan for these returnees will be very bleak; especially for those who are being returned as winter approaches. The Afghan government and international aid groups are unprepared for a large influx of returnees.

Read more:

"Afghanistan Itself Is Now Taking In the Most Afghan Migrants", The New York Times, November 4, 2016.

A report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is posted by ReliefWeb entitled Fragility and Population Movement in Afghanistan, November 1, 2016.

Erin Cunningham, a correspondent for The Washington Post writes "A humanitarian crisis looms in Afghanistan as the number of displaced climbs", November 2, 2016.

Afghan Development News

$$$ for Crop Diversification. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union (EU) are providing $76 million in grants to enhance crop diversification and food security in Afghanistan. The intent is to improve irrigated agriculture in the Panj-Amu River Basin. The project will improve water availability for irrigated agriculture through better water distribution and management. Read a news release posted by the European Union External Action on November 2, 2016.

District Control Explained

The U.S. military (and Resolute Support) continues to be vague on the topic of district control in Afghanistan. The latest Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report (October 2016) uses data from the Resolute Support mission that low-balls the amount of districts that the Taliban have control of. One of the key factors in determining district control used by the Afghan government and Resolute Support is who occupies the district center. The district center is typically a walled compound that contains several buildings. The district center usually houses the offices of the district governor, district chief of police, members of the Afghan National Police, and other district government officials. In dangerous districts these government officials (to include the district governor) are seldom present. In many areas of Afghanistan (for instance Helmand province) the district centers are under siege and the police (and Army if present) are resupplied sporadically by helicopter because the Taliban control the roads and countryside. Learn more about district control in "Analysis: US military assessment of Taliban control of Afghan districts is flawed", The Long War Journal, November 2, 2016.

Women in the Afghan Security Forces

The Afghan National Army (ANA) has had trouble meeting the expectations of the international community in recruiting women into its ranks. The donor nations of the world providing money to the Afghan government and Afghan security institutions want to see the inclusion of women in the army and police ranks. However, Afghanistan is not a country culturally receptive to women's rights and there is great resistance among the senior leaders of the army and police to including women in significant numbers. The goal of the international community is to see as many as 5,000 women in the Afghan army yet thus far there are less than 900 women soldiers. Read more in "Women in Afghan army overcome opposition, threats", Reuters, November 4, 2016.

Afghan News Snippets

Should Taliban Consider Peace Talks? A former Taliban envoy thinks so. There are internal discussions going on within the Taliban's fragmented organization on whether to pursue peace negotiations with the Afghan government. A leading member of the Taliban has come out on the record to support the idea of reconciliation efforts with the government. Read "Taliban Envoy Breaks Silence to Urge Group to Reshape Itself and Consider Peace", by Mujib Mashal, The New York Times, October 31, 2016.

Radicalized Youth in Afghan Madresses. One of the sources of recruitment by insurgent groups are the many unofficial and unregistered madresses in Afghanistan. Read more in "Warnings Over Afghanistan's Unofficial Madrasses", Institute for War & Peace Reporting, November 4, 2016.

Virtual Tour of Battle of COP Keating. Battle assessments and staff rides are an important part of the education of NCOs and officers. Some battlefields are impossible to physically visit. Gettysburg is easy but visiting remote areas on the other side of the world is problematic (and expensive). Some battlefields are no longer accessible to the U.S. military. The site of the COP Keating battle that took place in eastern Afghanistan's Nuristan province in October 2009 is one inaccessible location. However, technology is now available to afford observers a virtual tour of the battlefield. The CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment is a virtual reality system that makes visiting contemporary battlefields possible. Learn more in "Revisiting an Afghan Battlefield in Virtual Reality", Modern War Institute, November 2, 2016.

Afghan Returnees from Europe. Many Afghan families and individuals are crossing the border from Iran and Pakistan - due to many reasons - but primarily from some state harassment. To add to the returnees from these two countries is the increased number of voluntary and non-voluntary returnees from Europe. The tide has shifted for those from Afghanistan seeking asylum in the northern European nations. Public support for immigrants from the Middle East, Africa, and Afghanistan is eroding due to the staggering number of refugees fleeing to Europe over the past few years. But are there programs in place to assist these returning Afghan refugees? Read more in "Afghan Exodus: Can the Afghan government deal with more returnees from Europe?", Afghanistan Analysts Network, October 31, 2016.

Sign Up for the Weekly Afghan War Blog Newsletter

You can receive the Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter by email. It should arrive in your e-mail inbox at 0500 U.S. East coast time or just after lunch (1330) in Kabul every Sunday. It is easy to subscribe. To submit your subscription request go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and enter your email in the "Follow by Email" dialogue box at the top of the right hand column. The only info needed is your email. No personal data, no forms to fill out, and no passwords needed. You will receive a confirmation email asking you if you want to subscribe. Just confirm and you are done. It is also easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter - October 30, 2016

JFTC Receives Visit from Resolute Support GO

"The Deputy Commander of the Resolute Support Headquarters (RS HQ), Lieutenant General Sandy Storie CBE, arrived at the Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) to observe and support the last pre-deployment training for the RS mission in 2016. On 21 October he met with Major General Wilhelm Grun, the JFTC Commander and the Exercise Director, as well as with participants of the training".

Read more about the visit in "Resolute Support Deputy Commander Visits JFTC Pre-Deployment Training", JFTC PA Office, October 25, 2016.

Commentary

Afghanistan - Absent from U.S. Election Campaign. The fight against the Taliban is now America's longest war but has been all but ignored by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Read "Afghanistan is the dirty little secret of the US presidential campaign", The Guardian, October 27, 2016.

Afghan Refugees - Cold Welcome from Europe. Afghans that have reached Europe were hoping for support from European countries but have been disappointed by their reception on the continent. Read "Afghans Hoping for European Solidarity Find Cold Welcome", Refugees Deeply, October 28, 2016.

Poor Morale of the ANDSF. A recent article cites bad leadership within the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) as a source of poor morale among Afghan police and soldiers. Read more in "Why are Afghan forces losing ground to the Taliban?", Deutsche Welle, October 27, 2016.

SIGAR Quarterly Report to Congress - October 2016

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has released its quarterly report to Congress on October 30, 2016. Some of the topics in the 280-page report include "Afghan Women on their Progress and the Challenges That Remain", "SIGAR Oversight Activities", "Reconstruction Update", and other "Agency Oversight".

www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2016-10-30qr.pdf

SIGAR Report on USAID's Stabilization Initiatives

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has issued a report on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) efforts to provide stability to Afghanistan. The report says that USAID generally achieved its objectives but the agency lacked a geospatial data policy and standards affected its implementation.

"Beginning in 2011, with the drawdown of coalition troops throughout Afghanistan, USAID faced increasing challenges in overseeing its stabilization programs. To address these challenges, in March 2012, USAID awarded Management Systems International Inc. (MSI) as contract to implement the Measuring Impacts of Stabilization Initiatives (MISTI) program to monitor and evaluate eight ongoing stabilization programs costing $762 million. The agency estimated that MISTI would last 3 years and cost approximately $15 million. The contract ended in October 2015 and ultimately cost $19.3 million."

Read "USAID's Measuring Impacts of Stabilization Initiatives", SIGAR 17-10 Audit Report, October 2016. (32 pages, Adobe Acrobat PDF).
https://sigar.mil/pdf/audits/SIGAR-17-10-AR.pdf

Afghan Snippets

World Bank Approves Grants. The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved $120 million in grants for Afghanistan. The grant will improve infrastructure and social services, strengthen Afghanistan's financial sector. This includes improving the capacity of the central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank. (Khaama Press, Oct 29, 2016). See also a report by the World Bank entitled "World Bank Group Outlines Afghanistan Support to Cut Poverty", The World Bank, October 27, 2016.

Green Beret Describes 7-Hour Battle in Afghanistan. A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier was critically wounded during a long firefight in Shok Valley, Afghanistan in 2008. He describes being shot during an operation with about 100 Afghan Commandos. A bullet went through the side of his pelvis severely damaging the ball and socket of his hip. A second bullet hit him in the bicep and thigh. Read about the firefight and his MEDEVAC in this story (Scout, October 28, 2016).

Civilian Outreach? Conducting a counterinsurgency campaign is more than just military action against insurgents. COIN is a comprehensive approach that requires engagement with the civilian sector (economic, development, political, governance, etc.). This in turn requires the deployment of civilians with specific areas of expertise. One such discipline is that of civil engineering. Read the story on a civilian getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan in "Corps of Engineers Project Management Chief deploying to Afghanistan", DVIDS, October 28, 2016.

Video - Sling Load Opn in Afghanistan. How do you move big equipment containers to remote areas that have dangerous roads and rough terrain? Use a big U.S. Army Chinook helicopter and sling load the equipment container from below. Watch a 7-min video on a chopper sling load operation. (U.S. Forces Afghanistan, October 27, 2016)
www.dvidshub.net/video/489674/1cd-rssb-sling-load

ICRC Update on Afghanistan. The International Committee of the Red Cross helps displaced persons and impoverished communities in Afghanistan. Read an update of their activities over the past several months in "Afghanistan: Facts and figures, July-September 2016", ICRC, October 27, 2016.

Brick Kilns Along Bagram / Kabul Road. I used to drive the road connecting Kabul to the huge U.S. base north of Kabul quite often. I always wondered about the many brick kilns along the road. Now I now more after reading this article "At Afghanistan's Brick Kilns, Debt Can Last Generations", ABC News, October 28, 2016.

SIGAR Report - Road Infrastructure. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has issued SIGAR 17-11 Audit entitled "Afghanistan's Road Infrastructure: Sustainment Challenges and Lack of Repairs Put U.S. Investment at Risk", SIGAR, October 2016.

Podcast - Afghan Ambassador to U.S. The Afghanistan ambassador to the United States was recently interviewed by the Hudson Institute. Listen to the conversation here. (Iowa Public Radio, Oct 27, 2016)

Peace Talks and Women? Supposedly Afghanistan has a plan to include women in the peace talks with the Taliban and other insurgent groups. It was supposed to have been wrote and disseminated in 2015 but nobody has seen it. Read more in "Afghanistan's Mysterious Vanishing Plan on Women and Peace Talks", Human Rights Watch, October 27, 2016.

The Birth of a Nation. Three hundred years ago an Afghan tribal leader took on two of the most powerful empires in the world and won the independence for Afghanistan. Mir Wais Hotak, a chief of the Pashtun Ghilji tribe based in Kandahar, helped resist Persian pressure to convert the Sunni population to Shia Islam. In the process of this revolt he helped to found a nation called Afghanistan. Read more in an article by Akhilesh Pillalamarri in "300 Years Ago, Afghanistan's 'George Washington' Died", The Diplomat, October 28, 2015.

Afghan Security News

High-Level al-Qaeda Killed in NE Afghanistan? Defense Department reports indicate that a high-level al-Qaeda leader may have been recently killed in a U.S. airstrike recently. Read more about this elusive terrorist group member in a new report by Wesley Morgan (The Washington Post, Oct 28, 2016).

UN Report on Civilian Casualties. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has issued its quarterly report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan. The report shows that there is a continuing high number of civilian casualties in the armed conflict. In the first 3/4s of 2016 there were 2,562 deaths and 5,835 injured. Ground engagements remained the leading cause of civilian casualties - followed by complex attacks and improvised explosive devices. Read the report published on October 19, 2016.

Former PCoP Attempted to Flee Afghanistan. A former Provincial Chief of Police for Wardak province was stopped from leaving Afghanistan on a flight to Turkey at the Mazar-e-Sharif airport by authorities. The PCoP is accused of transporting a Taliban official in an official police vehicle in an attempt to provide passage to Pakistan. (Tolo News, Oct 29, 2016).

Opium Feeds the Taliban Organization. One writer believes that there can be no victory in Afghanistan unless narcotics are brought into the war agenda in Afghanistan. Read "How Opium Fuels the Taliban's War Machine in Afghanistan", The Diplomat, October 28, 2016.

U.S. Airstrike hits Civilians. On Friday (Oct 28) a U.S. airstrike in eastern Afghanistan (Nangarhar province) hit the home of a Taliban commander but also caused several civilian casualties. Read more in a news report by Reuters, October 28, 2016.

37 Civilians Killed by Insurgents. Men, women, and six children were killed by Islamic State extremists in the central province of Ghor, Afghanistan. Read a report by Radio Free Europe, October 26, 2016.

EU Contract to be Awarded. The European External Action Service (EEAS) has recently invited tenders for the 100 million Euro contract to protect EU diplomatic facilities in Kabul.

Stryker Gets A New Gun. The Stryker, a U.S. armored vehicle deployed to southern Afghanistan a few years back, is seeing some improvements. It is receiving more armor and some models will have a 30mm cannon mounted on its turret. Read more in "Army Rolls Out Upgunned Stryker: 30mm Autocannon Vs. Russians", Breaking Defense, October 27, 2016.

Fractured Taliban?

Since the announcement that Mullah Omar had died in a Pakistani hospital and the drone killing of his successor in May 2016 the Taliban have been ridden with internal strife. While the Taliban media has proclaimed success on the battlefield its fighters have experienced significant losses. This, of course, does not imply that the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) are winning on the battlefield. There are indications that the Taliban are suffering from some internal turmoil. Read more in Abubakar Siddique's news article "Are the Taliban Falling Apart?", Gandara Blog | Radio Free Europe, October 27, 2016.

Veterans with TBI Not Diagnosed Properly

A recent study by a news outlet in North Carolina has found that thousands of veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflict were not properly treated by military doctors and the health services of the Veterans Administration. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) emerged as the signature injury of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. The use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) against vehicles and dismounted patrols sometimes constituted over 50% of the casualties in both wars. TBI is a type of injury that has not been dealt with in many years and the military medical system was unprepared to identify and treat the injury. In many cases it isn't an obvious injury and it is hard to diagnose. Read more in "VA fails to properly examine thousands of veterans", North Carolina News, October 27, 2016.

UN Report on Drug Cultivation in Afghanistan

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has issued a new report about drugs in Afghanistan dated October 2016. Contributors to the report include Afghan organizations to include the Ministry of Counter-Narcotics, UNODC (Kabul), and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The news is far from good. Most of the drug activities in Helmand province is controlled by the Taliban; but government officials are also implicated. You can read the 12-page executive summary (bulk of report due out in November 2016) in "Afghanistan: Opium Survey 2016: Cultivation and Production".

First Vice President Dostum in the News Again

Afghan Vice President Increases Rhetoric. Dostum - the First Vice President has stepped up his criticism of the National Unity Government (NUG). He says that the senior military and police leaders of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) are not performing well and are ignoring insurgent threats in certain parts of northern Afghanistan. Dostum has a fairly robust militia that he controls in the north of Afghanistan. His base of support is the Uzbek population. He has been a powerbroker (warlord) in that part of Afghanistan for decades. At various times he has aligned himself with the Northern Alliance, the Taliban, the Soviet Union, and other political and military organizations. Ghani picked him as a running mate during the presidential elections in order to secure the Uzbek vote. Read more in a report by The New York Times, October 26, 2016.

Heart of Asia Conference - Dec 2016

The Heart of Asia (HoA) conference will be held in December. Over 14 nations across the Central and South Asian region will participate. This conference is of extreme importance to Afghanistan - a nation struggling with a downturn of its economy, development challenges, and deteriorating security situation. Central to the conference will be the extent to which India will continue to increase its economic aid to Afghanistan . . . and, of course, how many obstacles Pakistan will place in the way of real progress. Read more in "Why India must go all out for a stable Kabul", Observer Research Foundation, October 28, 2016.

Signup for Weekly Newsletter on Afghan War News

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter - October 23, 2016

Biometrics Training for ANDSF . . . . Again

Twitter feed 6 Oct 2016 - @ResoluteSupport

Every year the Coalition forces (under the International Security Assistance Force - ISAF and now under Resolute Support Mission) conducts a re-vamped biometrics training program in an attempt to get the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police to register their soldiers and policemen under the MoD and MoI biometrics systems. If successful, the biometrics datebase can streamline personnel assignments, pay issues, and manning rosters. But it seems every year the MoD and MoI falls short in implementation of the biometrics registration - which affects the ability to manage personnel, reduce ghost soldiers and policemen, and reduce corruption. Ah, there's the rub. The Afghan's simply don't want to have the biometric system to work. Because that would expose the significant ghost soldier and policeman problem - which in turn (because the salaries are received by corrupt leaders) reduce the amount of money commanders receive. ISAF (now RS) has been trying to implement a biometric system since at least 2008 (see page 36 of the Progress toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, DoD 1230 report, January 2009). So as much as we wish Essential Function 4 great success in the biometric implementation programs we should all acknowledge this that time next year a new set of advisors will be helping the Afghans to implement their biometric systems.

Social Scientists and the Military - Collaboration Needed?

A U.S. military officer at West Point's Modern War Institute, Jonathan Bate, has wrote an article about the need for the military and academia to work together to enhance our understanding of war. He believes that there is an ongoing need for a program to foster collaboration - similar to the arrangement under the Human Terrain System (HTS). He believes both camps will benefit - the military tapping into a vast pool of intellectual talent while the social scientists get access to raw data pertaining to the military and conflict. Read more in "Getting the Military and Social Scientists Back Together: The Need for 'Expeditionary Social Science'", Modern War Institute, September 30, 2016.

Afghan War News Snippets

Air Advisors Assist Afghans with CAS. The Afghan Air Force (AAF) has a couple of platforms that will provide air strikes in support of its ground troops. However, this is not an easy task to master and NATO advisors are assisting the AAF to become more proficient in providing close air support. Read more in "NATO trains Afghan troops to make air strikes more accurate", Reuters, October 20, 2016.

TACP's Train ATACs. Members of the U.S. Air Force are working hard to get the Afghan close air support capability up and running. Part of this endeavor is to train up the Afghan Tactical Air Coordinators or ATACs. Watch a short video on this topic (DVIDS, October 18, 2016)

CIVCAS. The United Nations is concerned with the high rate of civilian casualties caused by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). I wonder if they have the same level of concern for casualties caused by the Taliban. Hmmmm. Read more in a news report by Gandara Blog, October 19, 2016.

RS Press Conference - Some Spin. The Resolute Support mission's deputy chief of staff for communications (BG Cleveland) said at a recent press conference that the ANDSF are improving but still have a ways to go. Currently government troops control almost 70% of the population (mostly in large or medium sized cities) while the Taliban control 10% of the population (mostly in rural areas). The other 20-30% is contested. Resolute Support is somewhat hesitant to say how much of the actual ground terrain is held by the respective opponents. That number would be somewhat discouraging and work counter to the RS messaging plan I suspect. Read more in a U.S. defense news release from October 21, 2016.

More Spin. When you tell the world that the Taliban's big objective is to take and hold a provincial capital then it is easy to say that the Taliban have failed during the Summer Campaign 16 fighting season. But if you look at the large number of districts held or heavily contested by the Taliban across the country then the security situation looks much different. Watch a short video by Gandhara Blog (Oct 17) where General Nicholson (Resolute Support commander) explains the apparent failure of the Taliban.

OIG Report on US Embassy Support. The U.S. Department of State Office of Inspector General has published a report entitled "Lessons Learned from Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan, Operations and Maintenance Contract", AUD-MERO-17-04, October 2016. The report covers the maintenance and facilities contract awarded to PAE Government Services since 2011. Some irregularities to fix.
https://oig.state.gov/system/files/aud-mero-17-04.pdf

Afghan National Police Code of Conduct

The European Union Police (EUPOL) is backing (that would be money) a campaign by the Afghan government to make the ANP police code of conduct common knowledge among the citizens of Afghanistan. The code of conduct is a guide on ethical behaviour in conducting police work and was approved in 2011. The Ministry of Interior (MoI) conducted a survey in May 2016 to gauge the Afghan public's knowledge and perception of the code of conduct. The results were disheartening and pointed to the need for a media campaign to change the limited awareness. It is hoped that the media campaign will bring positive change to police behaviour and improve transparency and integrity within the Afghan National Police. Read more in "To serve and protect: Media awareness campaign promotes ANP Code of Conduct", European Union External Action.

Commentary

Generals Failed Us. Jason Dempsey, a retired military officer with a few tours in Afghanistan, provides us with his perspective on things we did wrong. Unit rotations were not ideal for the counterinsurgency environment, programs like the AfPak Hands not fully supported, and advisor assignments that hinder military careers. While the Security Force Assistance (SFA) mission was the right approach; it was not adequately resources with trained advisors. Take every word he writes as the absolute truth! Read more in "Our generals failed in Afghanistan", Foreign Policy, October 18, 2016.

High Casualties Worrying. The Afghan security forces are again on track for a record year of high casualties. This is a matter of great concern for the Coalition nations supporting the Resolute Support mission. Read more in "Afghan Forces' Battlefield Casualties Worry NATO", Gandara Blog, October 15, 2016.

Obama's Sorriest Legacy. America's longest war will remain a muddle for the next president. Read more in "Afghanistan 15 Years On: Obama's Sorriest Legacy", by Mark Perry, Politico Magazine, October 5, 2016.

Interactive Timeline of Afghan Conflict - CFR

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) presents an interactive timeline of the conflict in Afghanistan. It is entitled "1999-Present: U.S. War in Afghanistan". The timeline covers all the major events of the Afghan conflict encompassing the security and political aspects of the war.

http://www.cfr.org/afghanistan/us-war-afghanistan/p20018

Angelina Jolie to Star in Afghanistan War Drama

One of America's favorite movie stars may be featured in a war drama about Afghanistan called Shoot Like a Girl. The film is based on a memoir by Major Mary Jennings Hegar. The film chronicles Hegar's accomplishments on the battlefield where she served three tours of duty as a rescue pilot (earning a Purple Heart on one tour) and also documents her role in helping to end the Pentagon ban on women serving in direct combat jobs in the military. The book - a memoir- is due out in the spring of 2018 with the movie to follow. Read more in a news report by Entertainment Weekly, September 30, 2016.

Afghanistan Development News

Aid Successes in Afghanistan. A short news report cites the successes in development aid that have taken place in Afghanistan despite the severe deterioration in security. Read "Aid successes in Afghanistan: Schools, hospitals and roads", Europe Online Magazine, October 5, 2016.

Govt of Canada Funding Help for Women & Girls. The humanitarian group called War Child Canada has announced that it will receive $14.5M from the Government of Canada to enhance women and girl's rights and for the protection of children in Afghanistan. War Child Canada has been working in Afghanistan for over a decade. Read more in a news report by the Edmonton Journal, October 4, 2016.

600 Years of Afghan History on Hard Drive

A major initiative by the U.S. Library of Congress will provide the next generation of Afghans access to digital information about their countries history. The "Afghanistan Project" has digitized the library's collection of materials related to the country. This includes books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, and newspapers. Read more in "600 years of history finds its way home - on a hard drive", McClatchy, September 23, 2016.

Stay Current on Happenings in Afghanistan

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter - October 16, 2016

Commentary

Is the Afghan War a "Lost Cause"? A veteran argues why it is hopeless. It is a 15-year-old war, the Taliban is much stronger, the Afghan security forces casualties keep rising, and now we have a few thousand Islamic State fighters in the mix. "We'll Never Win the War in Afghanistan", Task & Purpose, October 7, 2016.

Fighting for Kunduz . . . Still

Fight for Kunduz. The U.S. has come to the aid of the Afghan security forces trying to re-establish security in the northern provincial capital of Kunduz. "Enablers" such as air support, air transport, ISR, and SOF advisors on the ground are making a difference in the fight against the insurgents.

The fighting has gone on for several days. Over 24,000 residents have fled the city. Water and food are seriously short. Medical assistance is scarce; with many medical personnel having been pulled out of the city. Electricity in on and off; mostly off.

Who to believe? The Afghan national government spokesmen says the situation is under control and only remnants of the Taliban were in the city. However, media reports and local government officials paint a different picture. Nearly a week after Resolute Support stated that remnants of the Taliban in Kunduz were being dispatched with the New York Times (Oct 9, 2016) says that central Kunduz is still in turmoil with Taliban fighters firmly entrenched.

Taliban Objective. The insurgents know that they will be unable to capture a provincial capital and hold it. The Taliban's intent was to make the Afghan government look bad during the Brussels Conference held last week. It worked. During the initial assaults many of the government security forces retreated - some to the airport to the southeast. Once the Afghan special operations forces arrived (with U.S. SOF advisors) the government forces went on the offensive to dislodge the Taliban from the city center and other neighborhoods.

Read more:
"US airstrikes aid Afghan forces pushing Taliban out of Kunduz", Stars and Stripes, October 9, 2016.
"Majlis Podcast: What is Happening In Kunduz, and Why Again", Radio Free Europe, October 8, 2016.
"Sleeping in Graveyards: Embattled Afghan City of Kunduz Facing Humanitarian Crisis", Radio Free Europe, October 7, 2016.
"Anger as fighting in Afghan city Kunduz forces people to flee", Reuters, October 8, 2016.
Conflict analysis: Kunduz city, Kunduz province, Cooperation for Peace and Unity, March 2009.
"Why Kunduz Fell", Small Wars Journal, October 10, 2016.

Afghan Security News

Bulgarian Contingent Completes Afghan Tour. The 31st contingent of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria returned to their home country after a 6-month tour in Afghanistan. Read more in "Bulgaria's 31st Contingent Returns from Afghanistan", Novinite.com, October 8, 2016.

'Ghost Soldiers' Still a Problem. Much of the Afghan police force and army is absent or does not exist. Read more in "Pentagon Asked to Explain Reports of Afghan 'Ghost Soldiers' On Payrolls", Radio Free Europe, October 7, 2016.

Helmand Battle Continues. The Resolute Support commander, General John "Mick" Nicholson, recently visited Lashkar Gar - the provincial capital of Helmand province in an effort to reassure residents and local leaders that the insurgents will not capture the capital. Read more in "US Commander Visits Embattled Southern Afghan City", Voice of America, October 8, 2016.

The news on Helmand province just seems to get worse as time goes on. A recent news report indicates that over 100 ANDSF were killed in a one-day battle. Seems the Afghan govt forces negotiated a truce with the Taliban that would allow them to vacate their position and fall back to Lashkar Gar (Helmand's provincial capital). The Taliban reneged as the govt forces retreated and there was quite a massacre. Read more in "Afghan Forces, Their Numbers Dwindling Sharply, Face a Resurgent Taliban", The New York Times, October 12, 2016.

Afghan Security Forces Struggling. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) are finding the 2016 fighting season (call it Summer Campaign 2016 if you desire) a big struggle. Read more in "On Their Own, Afghan Forces Strain to Combat Taliban Offensives", The New York Times, October 9, 2016.

Helmand Suicide Bombing. A car bomb killed 14 people, including ten Afghan police officers in Lashkar Gar, the provincial capital of Helmand province on Monday, October 10, 2016. Read more in a news report by CBC News, October 10, 2016.

Taliban on the Offensive; ANDSF Playing Defense. The Afghan security forces have been responded to one security crisis after another. Several provincial capitals have been threatened in the past month - to include Tarin Kot, Kunduz, and Laskar Gah (surrounded for months). With each emergency the over-used and miss-used Afghan Special Security Forces (ASSF) are moved around the country to counter the threats. In addition, the Afghan forces (clinging to a checkpoint mentality and lacking the basic knowledge of how to conduct a counterinsurgency campaign) are taking horrendous losses. Many times U.S. air support has been the difference on the battlefield. Other enablers (ISR and SOF advisors) have been extremely helpful. Read more in "On Their Own, Afghan Forces Strain to Combat Taliban Offensives", The New York Times, October 9, 2016.

Video - "Political and Human Rights of Women" by EU

Afghan Women Playing Football (Photo EU Oct 2016)

A video has been published by the European Union in Afghanistan entitled Political and Human Rights of Women (October 2, 2016). The video focuses on Afghan women's basic rights as well as their political involvement. It highlights the past achievements, persisting challenges, and future plans.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xESVukAhqpo

Remembering - Six Lives Lost in Puma Crash (2015)

One year ago six lives were lost in the crash of a British Puma helicopter at Camp Resolute Support in Kabul, Afghanistan. Resolute Support Headquarters gathered to remember the crash victims in Kabul.

Report - Transition from Intervention to CT Policy

William Maley, of the Australian National University, has wrote a report entitled "Transitioning from Military Interventions to Long-Term Counter-Terrorism Policy: The case of Afghanistan (2001-2016)". The report is dated April 2016 but is very current. The 62-page paper is an interesting read for those students of the Afghan conflict.

https://www.icct.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/transitioning_from_military_intervention_afghanistan_2016.pdf

Afghan War News Snippets

Proxy War in Afghanistan. Ariane M. Tabatabai thinks that a proxy war in Afghanistan between Iran and Saudi Arabia is a real possibility. Read "Saudi Arabia and Iran Face Off in Afghanistan", Foreign Affairs, October 5, 2016.

Wakhan Corridor. A part of Afghanistan is extremely remote and almost untouched by the war. Read more in Daily Mail, October 9, 2016.

"Neutral" Humanitarian Aid. An organization providing medical care in Afghanistan has adopted a 'neutral' stance when it comes to providing medical assistance. Read more in "Afghanistan: challenging aid neutrality in war-torn Helmand", by Laura Cesaretti, Offiziere.ch, October 10, 2016.

Afghans Returning from Iran. Every day thousands of Afghans cross the border from Iran to Afghanistan. The sad story of their plight is told in this report - "Broken on the Border", International Organization for Migration (IOM), October 10, 2016.

Opium Production Increases in 2016. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports annually on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. The country is the world's largest producer of opium and heroin. Read more in "Afghan opium production increases as eradication collapses, U.N. says", Reuters, October 5, 2016.

Read the Afghan War News with Your Sunday AM Coffee

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Afghan War Blog Weekly Newsletter - October 9, 2016

U.S. Service Member Dies in Afghanistan (4 Oct 2016)

Resolute Support Headquarters reported that a U.S. service member died in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, October 4, 2016 from injuries resulting from the blast of an improvised explosive device (IED). SSG Adam Thomas, of the 10th Special Forces Group based at Fort Carson, Colorado was killed during operations in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. The combat operation was part of a larger U.S. - Afghan counter-terrorism mission targeting the Islamic State - Khorasan. Read more about SSG Adam Thomas:

www.sof.news/afghanistan/ssg-adam-thomas/

Report on Brussels Conference

The Brussels Conference took place this past week. Over 75 nations and many international organizations and agencies took part in the two-day event. President Ghani and CEO Abdullah both attended as well. A major focus were presentations by the Afghan leaders on their vision on how to implement reforms, establish security, and become a more self-sufficient nation over the next five years. For their part, the attending nations renewed their commitment to continue funding the Afghan nations' security, development, and government.

Agreement on Afghan Migrants. It appears that a deal has been agreed upon between the Afghan government and the EU on the return of Afghan migrants who have been refused asylum in Europe. Reportedly the Afghan government needed to accept the deal - accepting forcibly returned immigrants (or refugees) - as a condition of continued foreign aid. Read more in "EU Publishes Agreement to Speed Return of Afghan Migrants Refused Asylum", The Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2016.

Comments by NATO Secretary General. On Wednesday, October 5, 2016, Jens Stoltenberg conducted a 6-min press conference at the Brussels Conference where he expressed his support of the results of the conference and answered questions on the current security situation in Afghanistan. Posted by NATO on Youtube.com, Oct 5, 2016.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=loqrXFu5EZM

Speech by ICRC President. Mr. Peter Maurer of the International Committee of the Red Cross delivered a speech at the Brussels Conference. (ICRC, 5 Oct 2016).

Secretary of State John Kerry Remarks. John Kerry has to provide his spin of course. Read his transcript from Oct 5th.

Speech by CEO Abdullah. The Afghan Chief Executive Officer provided a presentation on 5 Oct. Transcript is available on his official website - ceo.gov.af.

Speech by President Ghani. The president of Afghanistan spoke before the Brussels Conference on 5 Oct. The transcript has been posted by Office of the President website.

Need more info? The Afghan government has a website set up to provide info on the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan to include agendas, speakers, achievements (hmmmm), Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF), progress reports, documents and speeches, photo gallery, media resources, news, and more. http://policymof.gov.af/bca/