Afghan War Blog

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Daily News Snippets (Dec 9, 2014)

Missy Ryan, of The Washington Post explains the Resolute Support Mission in a recent news article (Dec 7, 2014). See "In Afghanistan, a tight timeline for new U.S.-led training and support mission".

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visited Tactical Base Gamberi in eastern Afghanistan where he met with the troops that comprise Train Advise Assist Command - East (TAAC-E). Read more in "Hagel: Afghan training is key in war's final act", Salon, December 7, 2014.

A US drone reportedly killed 13 alleged militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan. An 'important commander' believed to be inside a Pakistan compound may have been killed. Read more this news article posted on The Guardian (December 8, 2014).

Slovakia is set to join the new NATO-led non-combat mission in Afghanistan called Resolute Support. It will provide over 66 Slovak servicemen in January 2015. The proposal to send the troops will first need to be approved by the Slovak parliament.

Monish Gulati, a Senior Fellow with the Society for Policy Studies, new Delhi, provides insight into the relationship of Pakistan and Afghanistan and the latest US decision to continue combat operations in the context of the prevailing geopolitical situation in Afghanistan. See "Post-2014 AF-PAK Dynamics: Now US Change of Heart? - Analysis", Eurasia Review, December 7, 2014.

Fort Bragg continues to deploy units and troops into Afghanistan. Drew Brooks, a military editor and reporter for The Fayetteville Observer points out that Fort Bragg has a number of units deployed to Afghanistan to include the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, members of 3rd Special Forces and more. Read "Brooks: Fort Bragg's role in Afghanistan continues" (December 7, 2014).

The F-35 will be replacing the A-10 at some point in the future. However, many advocates of the A-10 question the merits of this action; saying the F-35 is not suited for close air defense. Today we learn that the F-35 can't run on warm gas from a fuel truck that sat in the sun. Seems the design of the F-35 has heat transferred from its air frame into the fuel. The fuel acts as a heat sink -absorbing the heat of the aircraft. But if the fuel is too hot already then it can't absorb heat and the F-35 shuts down. Not a big concern unless you are pumping fuel from fuel trucks that have been sitting next to the runway in places like . . . Iraq or Afghanistan. But really, how often do we go to places like that? Read more in this news article by Foxtrot Alpha (December 8, 2014).

More on the Air Force's ill-advised plan to retire the A-10. See "The Fight Over the A-10 Is About More Than Just a Plane", Task & Purpose, December 8, 2014.

News reporters are commenting on the security situation in Afghanistan as the U.S. and NATO pulls out (almost) its combat troops leaving just 12,000 some trainers and advisors behind. Read more in "Afghanistan mired in war as US combat command ends", Yahoo! News, December 8, 2014.

An Afghan interpreter working for U.S. Army Special Forces turned his contacts, English skills, and business acumen into a successful business venture. His support of U.S. Special Forces teams in remote areas provided valuable assistance to the small, lightly-defended teams conducting village stability operations and setting up Afghan Local Police. Unfortunately, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has targeted the former interpreter and the evidence would seem to indicate unfairly. Read more in a news article in The Daily Beast (Dec 8, 2014).

Explore Your Writing World

The Afghan War News Blog and the Afghan War News website are constantly striving to keep its blog, daily 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 some 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. And naturally, if you see errors, outdated information, or broken links please let us know.

staff@afghanwarnews.info

Morning News via Email

You can receive the Afghan War News Daily Newsletter each day. It should arrive in your e-mail inbox at 5:00 am Eastern Standard Time. It is easy to subscribe. Go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and submit your subscription request 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, forms to fill out, or passwords needed. It is also easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

Monday, December 8, 2014

AREU Paper - ANSF Sustainability Challenges

On November 18, 2014, Dr. Antonio Giustozzi, delivered a public lecture and then answered questions during the follow-on discussion about the long-term sustainability of the Afghan National Army. The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) has published the transcript and posted it on their website. The lecture addresses some of the specific challenges of the ANSF - the ability to logistically support units in the field with supplies, ammunition, fuel, etc.; personnel administration; functioning of the Afghan Security Ministries (ASIs); procurement procedures, and more. Some of the points made by Giustozzi include:

- the drawdown of western forces affected the morale of the ANSF;
- the ANSF realizes they don't have the financial resources needed;
- Kabul military leaders don't have good ground truth of tactical situation;
- the ANSF realized they underestimated the strength of the Taliban;
- the Taliban enhancement of village-level operations;
- concern of ANSF to hold on next two years;
- high level of desertions from ANSF;
- higher level of ANA corruption than previously thought;
- 63% of ANA fuel is stolen;
- 2/3s of ANA food is stolen;
- poor quality of boots for the ANA;
- lack of foreign advisors and mentors means higher levels of "ghost soldiers";
- lack of advisors at kandak / brigade may increase non-judicial killings;
- a worry that ANA cdrs will use fires instead of sound SUTs;
- a lack of middle-class Afghans participating in the ANSF;
- lack of educated Afghans in ministries working budgets, etc.;
- ISAFs maintenance failures on the 11 Mi-24 combat helicopters;
- inability to field the 20 A-29 Tucano close support aircraft on time;
- ISAF fumbling of the C-27 maintenance plan;
- inability of ANSF to conduct aerial MEDEVACs affects morale;
- ANA commanders forming "truce pacts" with Taliban;
- lack of ANA doctrine (current manuals are translated US manuals);
- concern that Afghanistan could follow Iraq's present situation;
- senior Afghan military leaders and commanders "not up to the task";
- dismal prospects of reconciliation with the Taliban;
- optimistic narrative "everything is fine" of ISAF is counterproductive

The paper (transcript) was published December 7, 2014 and is available at the following link (Adobe Acrobat PDF, 22 pages, 1.3 MBs):
"The Afghan National Army: Sustainability Challenges beyond Financial Aspects".

Kabul's Dangerous Road

The Kabul - Jalalabad Road is known as the 'Valley of Death' - the most dangerous of roads to travel on. In the past few months the Taliban have stepped up their attacks in the Kabul area - ignoring the traditional end of the fighting season. Sudarsan Raghavan, writing for The Washington Post (Dec 7, 2014) tells us more - "In Kabul's Valley of Death, hints of Afghanistan's security woes".

Daily News Snippets (Dec 8, 2014)

According to one U.S. Senator the Pentagon botched the investigation of a bin Laden raid leak to the folks making the "Zero Dark Thirty" movie. (Stars and Stripes, Dec 4, 2014).

Ata Mohammad Noor, the governor of Balkh province, recently addressed a conference in Mazer-e-Sharif where he criticized the high level of corruption in the Kabul government. Comes under the heading of "the kettle calling the pot black". (Afghan Zariza, Dec 7, 2014).

Taliban Attacks. Recent attacks by the Taliban include the attack on a wedding party Saturday night in northern Balkh province killing four and injuring 12. Five Afghan policemen were killed when attacked by Taliban insurgents in southern Helmand province on Saturday night.

Rula Ghani is continuing her high-profile activities to improve the lot of Afghan women. However, not everyone is happy; some believe that the foreign-born, Christian first lady could pose a threat to Islamic values.(The Diplomat, Dec 7, 2014).

Cutting edge winter gear will soon be issued to the Army in 2015. There is a chance that the U.S. Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan in 2015 during the Resolute Support mission may have the cold weather clothing next winter. Read more in "This Cutting-Edge Winter Gear Will Soon be Issued to Soldiers, Banned for Wear", Duffel Blog, December 7, 2014.

A senior Taliban militant captured by U.S. forces last year was secretly flown to Pakistan last week. The move could be part of a thawing out of relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Perhaps it will lead to the cessation of Pakistani support for the Taliban? No, probably not. (Reuters, Dec 7, 2014).

The commander of Air Combat Command, General Hawk Carlisle, visited Bagram Air Field in the later part of November 2014 where he was briefed on current operations and mission capabilities and assets. (DVIDS, Dec 5, 2014).

The German government has voted in favor of plans to aid Afghan forces when the NATO-led ISAF mission ends. (Deutsche Welle, Dec 7, 2014).

A new book about Afghanistan is out (surprise) about an American woman who is breaking new ground for women in Afghanistan. Read a review of Mountain to Mountain: A Journey of Adventure and Activism for the Women of Afghanistan, The Boston Globe, December 6, 2014.

Photo of woman in Kabul with legs bared goes viral on Internet. (The Washington Post, Dec 7, 2014).

The New York Times editorial board has penned an opinion piece entitled "Backsliding in Afghanistan" (Dec 6, 2014). The editorial leads you to the conclusion that President Obama is making "a huge mistake" in broadening the war.

Sharmadha Srinivasan writes in The Diplomat that the outcome of the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was a disappointment. The member countries failed to sign two major agreements on rail and road connectivity. Afghanistan will benefit with any improvement in the Central and South Asian economic environment - as all boats rise with the tide. (Dec 2, 2014).

Guest Bloggers Wanted

Afghan War News Morning Brief

Sunday, December 7, 2014

U.S. Troop Levels in 2015

According to recent news reports the troop levels originally planned for Afghanistan will be exceeded. Plans had been for the United States to be at or below 9,800 total troops by January 1, 2015. However a few developments have transpired to change that number. It now appears that the troop number ceiling of 9,800 will be exceeded by about 1,000 for at least several months. One reason is that the Europeans (for whatever reason) have not yet made the necessary coordination to deploy the troops they were on the hook for in a timely manner. While the Europeans are certainly going to continue their commitment to Afghanistan, it will be in reduced numbers. Another factor is that the Obama administration is reeling from its mistakes with Syria and Iraq and is now worried about the same thing happening in Afghanistan post-2014. Still further is the extension of the fighting season by the Taliban, the current spate of high-profile attacks in Kabul, the resilience of the Taliban in rural areas, and the heavy losses suffered by the ANSF during this past fighting season.

Interview - Author "Warrior Diplomat"

Mike Waltz, Green Beret, Afghan policy guy, and book author, is interviewed by Peter Bergen of New America on his book, Afghanistan, and how to move forward in the conflict. See the interview of the author of "Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles from Washington to Afghanistan" that took place on December 4, 2014 and is now available for viewing on YouTube (1 hour 20 minutes - time well spent).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq2jR1RUbRM

Video - Women on Bikes

Women do not usually ride bicycles in Afghanistan. However, a small women's group is changing that. The meet once a week to ride bikes in a group. Watch a video about this at "Afghan women's two-wheel revolution", NATO Channel TV, December 4, 2014.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1HaiyK8xeU

JFC Brunssum Trains for RSM

Joint Forces Command Brunssum is preparing the next rotation of personnel to man the desks and computers in Kabul and outlying areas for the beginning of the Resolute Support Mission that starts January 1st, 2014. Read more on the train-up the personnel will be going through in "Resolute Support Mission leaders train at JFC Brunssum", Allied Command Operations, December 3, 2014.

Poland Completes ISAF Mission

The country of Poland is completing its ISAF mission in Afghanistan after a 13 year presence. Some 28,000 Polish personnel, military and civilian, took part in the mission over those long years. Many Pole Soldiers were deployed to Ghazni province as part of Task Force White Eagle. Over the course of Poland's presence in Afghanistan, 45 Soldiers died while 361 were injured. Read more in "Polish ISAF mission wraps up in Afghanistan", Poland Radio, December 4, 2014.

Women's Rights a Fragile Situation

Kimberley Motley, writing for The Daily Beast worries about women's rights in Afghanistan. Although much progress has been made, she believes these are reversible without continued international support. Read her piece in "We're Not Done in Afghanistan".

Making of a Narco State

In 2014 Afghanistan produced 90% of the world's supply of opium. The drug trade is an integral part of Afghanistan's economy and the corruption goes up to the highest of levels within the police, military, and government. Read more in "Afghanistan: The Making of a Narco State", Rolling Stone, by Matthieu Aikins, December 4, 2014.

Military Dog Contract to End

In the fight against IEDs military working dogs have proven to be the most effective and cost-efficient measure to detect bombs. However, the military is on the verge of doing away with most of this capability. Read more in "K2 Solutions' military dog contract ends, may lay off 70 workers", Stars and Stripes, December 4, 2014.

PTSD and Time

Tom Ricks, an author, commentator, and observer of all affairs military, has wrote an article about his experiences in Iraq and PTSD. Very interesting. Read "In and Out of Time in Iraq", The New Yorker, December 5, 2014.

China, India, and Pakistan

There are three key nations that can influence the course of history for Afghanistan - China, Pakistan, and India. The new president - Ashraf Ghani - has quickly reached out to all three in an effort to seek their assistance in establishing stability for Afghanistan. Read an insightful column by Harsh V. Pant posted on YaleGlobal Online (Dec 4, 2104) that provides good background information on this topic - "An Afghan Dilemma for China and India".

Afghan Daily News Snippets (Dec 7, 2014)

December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day. On this day the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. About 360 Japanese planes attacked 33 American ships and military installations. The American losses were 18 ships, 170 aircraft, and over 3,000 lives.

The New York Times reported that the Obama administration changed the rules of US troop engagement authorities for 2015. The Times reported that a "secret memo" had been signed expanding the military's options in post-2014; but the administration is denying any big changes and so is ISAF. So was there a change in authorities? Hard to tell. Read more in "Afghanistan: The plot thickens", The Strategist, Australian Strategic Policy Institute Blog, December 4, 2014.

U.S. Special Envoy Daniel Feldman was interviewed by Deutsche Welle (German newspaper) about Afghanistan. Feldman has a positive outlook on the country's prospects. Read more in "US Afghan envoy Feldman: Very clear on challenges facing Afghan security forces", DW, December 3, 2014.

The country of Georgia has been a dependable contributor to the fight in Afghanistan. Its 51st Battalion of the V Infantry Brigade has just completed a deployment at Bagram Air Field. Read more in "General Anderson Bids Farewell to 51st Battalion", The Messenger Online, December 4, 2014.

The new Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, faces a number of huge challenges in the future. NATO is leaving, international donor funds are being reduced, corruption is the number one problem, drugs are at a high level of production, and the Taliban are stronger than ever. Read more in a news report. (Euronews.com, Dec 4, 2014).

Hagel Visit to Afghanistan. The outgoing Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel conducted a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, December 6, 2014. Most likely his last in his current position. In a statement he said that he believes the Afghans will successfully put down a surge in Taliban attacks in the capital and stabilize the nation. Read more in "Hagel: Afghanistan on right track", Yahoo! News, December 6, 2014.

Continued German Support. Chancellor Angela Merkel says her country will continue to support Afghanistan after NATO combat troops pull out at the end of the year. Her statement came during a joint press conference with Afghan President Ghani. The German parliament voted to keep 850 soldiers in Afghanistan in 2015 to continue to advise and assist the ANSF; primarily in northern Afghanistan. See "Merkel Pledges Continued German Support to Afghanistan", Radio Free Europe, December 6, 2014.

Rebirth of Afghanistan. The population of Afghanistan is one of youth. The young Afghans are slowly transforming Afghanistan on many fronts. A commentator provides us with a dose of optimism (by way of discussing the Afghan sports teams) in "Rebirth of a State in Heart of Asia: The New Afghanistan", Eurasia Review, December 5, 2014. Waheed Rahimi is an Afghan analyst and writes for The Kabul Times. @wrAFG

Expats in Afghanistan are a strange crowd. They come to Afghanistan on a work assignment and then, for whatever reason, stay on for years. Some for decades. Read more in "Why I'm staying in Afghanistan", The Guardian, November 8, 2014.

Video - "The Kabul property scene", NATO Channel, November 14, 2014. An in-depth look at the current property market, both rental and construction. Despite being a benefit for the economy, extensive construction on unplanned and unapproved land is putting a strain on the infrastructure of the city. The "Kabul Solidarity Programme" or KSP aims to provide basic services to unplanned areas and legally bring them into the government's fold. (5 mins).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IFKYQ0EBn0

The Pentagon has released a report on the insider attack that killed MG Harold Greene. Read more in a news article by The New York Times, December 4, 2014.

Withdrawal of U.S. troops delayed according to a news report in The New York Times (Dec 6, 2014).

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a private, international, and non-denominational development organization, has stated that it will continue its work in Afghanistan. Read more in an AKDN press release (Dec 4, 2014).

U.S. airstrikes on Pakistani militant elements located in Afghanistan are the latest signs of a thaw in U.S.-Pakistan relations. (Fox News, Dec 5, 2014).

In April 2014 Canadian journalist Kathy Gannon was covering the Afghan elections when she was shot by an Afghan police officer (her associate photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed). Gannon was shot six times with an AK-47. Read more in a news account (CTV News, Dec 3, 2014).

Express Yourself - Blog for AWN!

News Via Email Every Morning

Saturday, December 6, 2014

82nd CAB and Retrograde

The 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade has been busy loading helicopters onto aircraft for the ride home back to the states. By the end of the year the 82nd CAB will have sent back 80 helicopters, including Chinooks, OH-58 Kiowa Warriors, UH-60 Black Hawks and AH-64 Apaches. It has also returned nearly $200 million worth of spare parts, tools and other equipment as part of its retrograde operations. The bulk of the equipment is shipped back to Kuwait where it is sorted through and prioritized for further shipment. Read more in "With the Troops: Copters packed for trip home", Fayetteville Observer, December 5, 2014.

IMF Report on Afghanistan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a report based off a recent trip to Afghanistan. Read more in a press release dated December 2, 2014.

Investigation MG Greene Insider Attack Complete

The investigation into the insider attack on MG Harold Greene on August 5, 2014 is now complete. The U.S. Central Command public affairs office has released a statement about the completed investigation available here. You can access the reports here.

Paper - "Logged On"

The World Bank has published online a paper entitled "Logged On: Smart Government Solutions from South Asia" (December 2014). The paper looks at mobile and smart phone technology through the lens of good government management. It shows how developing governments (including Afghanistan) can deliver goods and services that citizens care about. Paper available at this link on the World Bank website.

IJC Says ANA Getting Better

The commander of the ISAF Joint Command (IJC), LTG Joseph Anderson, says that he is confident in the Afghan National Security Forces' tactical capabilities. He says they are "a very good fighting force". He does say that the Afghans need to focus on logistics, intelligence, aviation and special operations integration. IJC is days away from shutting down and LTG Anderson provides some comments over the past several months that he has commanded IJC. Read more in "Three-star: Afghan army getting better, needs to 'keep upping the game'", Military Times, December 5, 2014.

EUPOL, ABP, and FDP

With the end of the ISAF mission coming up fast (December 31, 2014) many international organizations are scaling back activities in Afghanistan. The European Police (EUPOL) is one of those organizations. Read about EUPOLs activities with the Afghan Border Police (ABP) and the Fire and Disaster Police (FDP) in "Fire & Disaster Police and Border Police: close cooperation and an open mind go a long way", European Union External Action, December 4, 2104.

Pubs - Exit Strategy for Afghanistan

A bibliography entitled "Exit Strategy and Military Disengagement" is available on the website of the NATO Multimedia Library. The bibliography provides a listing of books, publications, and papers about how to exit the conflict in Afghanistan to include topics about peace talks, transition, and military victory. Available at the link below:

www.natolibguides.info/ld.php?content_id=6618301

Daily News Snippets (Dec 6, 2014)

Read President Ghani's statement at the NATO Ministerial Meeting held in Brussels, Belgium on December 2, 2014. Available on the Office of the President's website here.

Kate Clark of the Afghan Analysts Network (AAN) provides more information about the Taliban "Bird Bomber" that the ANSF reported carrying a bomb, GPS, and camera. She chases down the facts and determines that the bird carried a GPS and camera but no explosives. Read more in "Bird Bomber: Police kill 'dangerous' houbara bustard", AAN, December 5, 2014.

A news article by PBS Newshour highlights the activities of a non-profit called Global Partnership for Afghanistan. It is an organization started to help small farm holders restart their farm businesses in Afghanistan. Read more in "Helping Afghan farmers regrow the economy", PBS Newshour, December 4, 2014 by Larisa Epatko.

The Guardian provides us an interactive infographic that tells us where all the Afghan aid money has gone. (December 4, 2014).

The 45th Sustainment Brigade's headquarters has returned from their 8-month long deployment to Afghanistan. While deployed they were the hqs for the Central Command Material Recovery Element (CMRE) charged with sorting, tracking, and recovering all U.S. military equipment from the operational area. (DVIDS, December 4, 2014).

According to Central Asia Online the Ministry of Interior (MoI) appointed former Balkh province police chief General Abdul Rahman Rahimi as the new Kabul police chief. The seat became vacant when General Zahir Zahir resigned on November 30, 2014. Zahir is now the chief of the crime branch at MoI.

NATO has pledged support for the Resolute Support mission but they are not going to get all of their troops to Afghanistan on time. The U.S. has decided to fill the gap. Read more in "U.S. moves ahead with plan for extra troops in Afghanistan until allies finalize plans", The Washington Post, December 5, 2014.

The United Nations political chief, Jeffrey Feltman, addressed the London Conference in Afghanistan. You can read his remarks in "UN political chief urges revamped approach to boosting development in Afghanistan", UN News Centre, December 4, 2014.

Watch a video of former British Soldiers chatting about their hopes for Afghanistan on British Forces TV. (5 mins). http://forces.tv/80957412

Casey Michel writes a not so favorable outlook for the CASA-1000 project that would export electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Read more in "An Historic, But Pointless, CASA-1000 Accord", The Diplomat, December 5, 2014.

The Taliban's high profile attacks in Kabul are having an effect; if not strategically, then at least in the amount of fear and press generated. Read more in "Taliban Making High-Profile Attacks Ahead of US Drawdown", Military.com, December 5, 2014.

As the ISAF mission comes to a close and the Resolute Support mission begins (1 Jan 15) folks are trying to figure out just what the mission is. See "Afghanistan 2015: a mission in flux", Stars and Stripes, December 5, 2014, by Chris Carroll.

Some news reports indicate that President Ghani is conducting negotiations with the insurgent group Hezb-e-Islami. The group, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, is probably interested in a power-sharing arrangement. HI fought against the early Communist regime and then the Soviet Union invasion and occupation. Read more in "Ghani holds negotiations with Hezb-e-Islami", Central Asia Online, December 5, 2014.

The 419th Sustainment Support Battalion is completing its mission on Bagram Air Field and heading home. Learn more in "Task Force Guardian prepares for redeployment", Fort Hood Herald, December 3, 2014.

Express Your Opinion

News with Your Coffee

Friday, December 5, 2014

Bibliography for Resolute Support

Afghan War News has compiled an "Annotated Bibliography for Resolute Support". The ISAF mission in Afghanistan will end this year. NATO will begin the Resolute Support mission in January 2015. The Resolute Support mission is primarily Security Force Assistance (with a little bit of counter-terrorism). The mission will entail training, advising, and assisting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the Afghan Security Ministries (ASI). The link below will take you to an annotated bibliography for the Resolute Support Mission. The bibliography will be extremely helpful for advisors and staff working at the ministerial, institutional, and corps levels. The publication is an Adobe Acrobat PDF, is almost 200 pages long, and less than 3 MBs big.

www.afghanwarnews.info/pubs/RSM-Bibliography.htm

Special Forces Soldier Dies in Zabul Province

A Special Forces Soldier of 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group died of small arms fire on December 3, 2014 in Zabul province, southern Afghanistan. He was with his unit conducting a clearing operation at the time. SSG Ammerman enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2004. He served with the 509th Infantry Battalion (Alaska) and deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq with that unit. He later served with the 69th Armor Regiment (Georgia). He volunteered for Special Forces in 2012. Details were released by ISAF, Army Times, and stateside newspapers. See a press release from United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC).

Big Hurdle: Lack of Cooperation Among ANSF

A German newspaper Deutsche Welle has posted (Dec 3, 2014) an interview with Jason H. Campbell about his recent fact-finding trip to Afghanistan. ". . . Campbell is an associate policy analyst at the RAND Corporation where he focuses on issues of international security, counterinsurgency, intelligence, and measuring progress in post-conflict reconstruction." In the interview Campbell talks about the main challenges facing the ANSF, the diminished support the ANSF will receive from NATO under the Resolute Support Mission, and how there is a lack of coordination between the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, and the National Directorate of Security. He also discusses the degree of control that the Taliban has in the countryside and the future prospects of peace talks. Campbell's analysis of the current situation in Afghanistan seems to be spot on. Read the news article "Lack of coordination among local forces remains 'biggest hurdle' to Afghan security".

Book "Failure of Counterinsurgency"

The topic of counterinsurgency is popular if you judge it by the number of books coming out. It is interesting to see so many perspectives on COIN in literature; and there are certainly more to come. Supporters are trying to justify COIN while detractors criticize it. Ivan Eland, a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty, has wrote his perspective of COIN in The Failure of Counterinsurgency: Why Hearts and Minds Are Seldom Won. Read an article on why COIN failed in Afghanistan that he posted in The World Post (Huffington), (Dec 1, 2014).

AAN - Access to Health Care

The Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) has published an online article entitled "Between Rhetoric and Reality: Access to health care and its limitations" (December 2, 2014). Frank Dorner and Lena Langbein look at the rhetoric of political and military actors about healthcare and what is actually happening at ground level in Afghanistan - as seen by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). They list a number of health care shortcomings such as the growing humanitarian needs due to the ongoing armed conflict, medical clinics far from people's homes, health care that poor Afghans cannot afford, and lack of skilled female personnel in rural areas.

Ghani so Far: An Assessment

The Los Angeles Times has posted (December 1, 2014) an assessment of President Ghani's performance thus far. The reporters who wrote the story are Ali M. Latifi and Shashank Bengali. Read "Afghan president sets all-business tone as he aims to steady nation".

White House Had Hotline to Afghanistan

Much to the dismay of then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates - the White House had a direct link via telephone to the U.S. special operation's headquarters that went to a top White House national security official. Gates was not happy and had the SOF guys tear the phone out on the spot. He told the SOF commanders that "If you get a call from the White House, you tell them to go to hell and call me". To Gates the phone in Kabul symbolized the White House's staff attempting to micromanage the war and the Pentagon. Read more in "White House interference extended to hot line in Afghanistan", Stuff New Zealand, December 1, 2014.

Challenging Corruption in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is languishing at the bottom of the Transparency International Corruption Index ranking 175 out of 177 nations in 2013. In December 2014 new results will be announced and Afghanistan is sure to be in the top ten most corrupt countries in the world. The world community is meeting in London this week discussing renewed financial support for Afghanistan. Many observers are leery of providing increased or continued aid to the country because much of the money is siphoned off by corrupt Afghan government officials and does not get to the poor. Corruption is viewed by many Afghans as the most important problem in Afghanistan after the issue of security. Corruption fuels the insurgency with much of the rural population supporting the Taliban against a government that does not govern, provide services, encourage development, and ensure security. Transparency International is offering six recommendations that the Afghan government officials and international donors should consider:

1. Promote clean leadership in key institutions.
2. Make the judiciary independent.
3. Establish a best practice right to information regime.
4. Establish an independent anti-corruption agency.
5. Make asset declaration mandatory for all who hold power.
6. Procurement transparency.

Read more details of Transparency International's recommendations in "Challenging Corruption in Afghanistan" (December 1, 2014).

Bribery Gets You Day in Court in Afghanistan

The international community continues to pour money into Afghanistan in an effort to improve the police, judiciary and rule-of-law. However, progress is being made at a snail's pace. To get any results from a court in Afghanistan a citizen must wait, and wait, and . . . or pay a bribe. Read more in "Donations buy justice in Afghanistan?", Aljazeera, December 3, 2014.

India, Pakistan: Secret War for Afghanistan

Parviz Azizi has wrote an interesting column entitled "Pakistan, India, and the Secret War for Afghanistan", Geopolitical Monitor, December 2, 2014. He outlines Pakistan's and India's interests in and perspectives on Afghanistan. In addition, he provides us with his view of the future outlook.
www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/pakistan-india-secret-war-afghanistan/

Traditional Justice in Afghanistan

There are three justice systems at work in Afghanistan. One is the Afghan government's judicial system which is under-funded, under-resourced, inefficient, incompetent, and extremely corrupt. A second is the "traditional justice system" that has existed for centuries in Afghanistan based at the local level. The third is the Taliban "shadow" judicial system; judged by many to be quick, fair, and harsh. There are supporters and detractors about the traditional justice system; which incorporates the use of jirgas and shuras. Read more in "How Fair is Traditional Justice in Afghanistan", Institute for War & Peace Reporting, December 4, 2014.

Afghan War News Snippets (Dec 5, 2014)

Movie Review - "Kajaki". An American military officer recently viewed the British film "Kajaki" in a London movie theater. He provides us with his thoughts on the history of Hollywood war movies and then let's us know that "Kajaki" is definitely worth viewing. Read "The British War Movie America Needs", by T.S. Allen, War on the Rocks, December 4, 2014.

An Afghan interpreter, one of the few that manage to get a visa from the U.S. Department of State, has finally been reunited with his family. Read more in "Former Afghan translator living in US finally reunited with family", Stars and Stripes, December 3, 2014.

The F-22 and F-35A are two pieces of high tech machinery and they are very complementary of each other. Read more in "Talk Stealthy to Me", by Kelley Sayler, War on the Rocks, December 4, 2014.

LTG (Ret) Daniel Bolger, author of the recently published book Why We Lost, has provided us with his top war books that he considers essential for military leaders. Read "WarBooks Profile: Lieutenant General Daniel Bolger", WarCouncil.org, December 4, 2014.

Freedom House has produced an InfoGraphic posted by Radio Free Europe depicting the levels of Internet Freedom Around the World. There are three ratings - green is "free", orange is "partly free", and red is "not free". On the map Afghanistan is . . . white. I guess that means "unknown".

According to Tolo News (Afg) the Ministry of Finance (MoF) will incorporate three Afghan banks - Pashtani Bank, Milli Bank, and the New Kabul Bank. The New Kabul Bank is the notorious financial institution where ex-President Karzai's relatives stole billions of dollars. The merger will mean that a single bank will control the banking system, which is currently performed by the Central Bank of Afghanistan. Read more in "MoF to Incorporate Three State-Run Banks", Tolo News, December 3, 2014.

Poland has been a steady and reliable partner in the Afghan conflict. Read more about Poland's contribution to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan in "NIC: Focus on Poland", ISAF News, December 4, 2014.

Drugs in Afghanistan. Two long-time members of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime have wrote an article which has been posted in Stability: International Journal of Security & Development entitled "Capturing the Elusive Formula Against Afghanistan's Drug Economy Through Integration" (December 2014).

Pomegranates. A BBC News Asia article by Daud Qarizadah & Harun Najafizade asks "Afghanistan: Can pomegranates power the economy?" (Dec 3, 2014).

It appears that the Pentagon is seeking a replacement pistol for the M9 Beretta. Read more in this news article (UPI, Dec 3, 2014).

Humanitarian workers are at increased risk in Kabul. Read more in "The Murder of Innocents", Foreign Policy Dispatch, December 3, 2014.

In an interview, the United Nations Assistant General Secretary Haoliang Xu said that the international community must remain committed to supporting Afghanistan's development under President Ghani (Thomson Reuters Foundation, December 4, 2014).

A video posted on YouTube by the NATO Channel entitled "Building up Afghanistan's economy" provides info on steps President Ghani is making to rebuild Afghanistan (4 mins).

The U.S. Army is going with a new battle uniform. This means new boots, belt, and T-shirt as well. Learn more in a news report by Army Times (Dec 3, 2014).

The spokesman for the Department of Defense (Admiral Kirby) states that the U.S. is confident Afghans can take full security control next month (DoD News, Dec 2, 2014).

Nasir Shansab is an Afghan-born businessman living in the United States. He has wrote an opinion piece for Newsweek entitled "Afghanistan Needs a Government - Fast" (Dec 3, 2014).

Robert Chesney writes about the "Rules of Engagement for the War in Afghanistan in 2015", on the Lawfare Blog, December 3, 2014.

Share Your Knowledge on Afghanistan

Newsletter on Afghan Events

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Road Construction: A Slow Go

Roads provide a lifeline for businesses in Afghanistan - where they exist and are maintained. But the construction of roads in Afghanistan over the past twelve years has quite a history. Much money has been spent but it is questionable how much of that money went to the construction of the roads because of corruption. There is a lot of speculation that much of the road building money was used to construct houses in Kabul and Dubai by corrupt businessmen and government officials. A $200 million project of USAID to construct a road to tie the city of Khost with Gardez has had a fitful start with no sight in end for completion. Read more in "Anger Over Long-Delayed Afghan Highway", by Ahmad Shah of Institute for War & Peace Reporting, December 1, 2014.

Counter-Narrative Important in Counter-Insurgency

Captain Robert A. Newson, a Navy SEAL, has published an article entitled "In Recent Battles, the U.S. Has Forgotten How to Tell Its Side of the Story. It must Remember" (December 3, 2014). It is posted on the Defense in Depth Blog of Janine Davidson (Council of Foreign Relations). Newson argues that ". . . the United States has effectively ceded the information domain without a fight." He states that "an effective information operations strategy will hinge on both long-term commitment and a willingness to expose audiences to the full complexity of political issues rather than resorting to misinformation and simplification." One of his observations is that the United States lost a significant information operations (IO) capability (is it now called inform and influence activities?) when it disestablished the United States Information Agency (USIA) in 1999. He states that the U.S. Army Special Operations Command is looking hard at this problem; citing the release of a white paper entitled Cognitive Joint Force Entry.

Read the article on the Defense in Depth Blog by Captain Newson:
". . . the U.S. Has Forgotten How to Tell Its Side of the Story. . ."

Read the white paper by the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), 26 September 2014. Cognitive Joint Force Entry

Afghanistan and Corruption Index

Transparency International has released its 2014 yearly corruption index. In 2013 Afghanistan was ranked as the third most corrupt nation in the world - behind North Korea and Somalia. This year (2014) we see a significant improvement! Afghanistan is less corrupt in 2014 than in 2013. In 2014 Afghanistan is ranked as only the fourth most corrupt nation in the world. Yes, it's true. Somehow, despite Karzai's best efforts the country of Sudan moved into 3rd place. Now the only countries more corrupt than Afghanistan are Somalia, Korea, and Sudan (in that order). So ISAF's efforts at meaningful oversight of the billions of dollars spent in Afghanistan is bearing fruit. Well done, ISAF.

But, let's give NATO (and the U.S.) another chance at this. According to the NATO webpage that describes the key functions of the new Resolute Support mission addressing corruption is very important. The key functions for NATO in RSM are found below:

- Supporting planning, programming and budgeting;
- Assuring transparency, accountability and oversight;
- Supporting the adherence to the principles of rule of law and good governance;
- Supporting the establishment and sustainment of such processes as force generation, recruiting, training, managing and development of personnel.

With this much attention on the problem of corruption one would think that Afghanistan's ranking in December 2015 will be much improved. Time will tell. See the world wide corruption rankings at the link below:

www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results

Interview w/ Author of "Warrior Diplomat"

Peter Bergen, the director of the International Security Program of New America, will be interviewing Michael G. Waltz - the author of a recent book about Afghanistan. Waltz is a Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army Special Forces (Reserve Component) and the author of Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles from Washington to Afghanistan. Waltz deployed to Afghanistan three times with the Special Forces, worked as a policy advisor on counter-terrorism for Vice President Richard Chaney, and helped shape policy for Afghanistan at the Pentagon. The interview will take place on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 12:15 pm - 1:45 pm. If you click on "RSVP" at the link provided below you should be able to watch the video online.
www.newamerica.org/international-security/warrior-diplomat/

Video - "Changing NATO Mission in Afghanistan"

The NATO Channel has published online (YouTube) a 4 minute long video explaining the Resolute Support mission, provides info on base closures, and identifies shortfalls and gaps of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Watch the video published on December 1, 2014 and narrated by Mel Preen - "Changing NATO Mission in Afghanistan".