Will the $ 55B Invested in Afghan Forces Pay Off?

The U.S. HAS Spent $ 55 one billion to recruit, train and equip Afghan security forces. And as the U.S. and NATO transition from leading the fight against the Taliban to pushing the Afghans into the lead, the world will see what the U.S. got for its money.

One of the MOST Closely Watched Initiatives Undertaken by the 195.000-strong Afghan National Army (ANA) is icts nascent quick-reaction capability, Which HAS Already tens of cost millions of dollars to field more than 300 640 vehicles of a Planned. The strength will grow to a strength of seven kandaks - each about the size of a battalion - two of Which will be special operations forces.

The Plan is for the kandaks to be able of driving to the fight in the ANA's fastest, most is advanced and well-protected vehicle: the mine-resistant mobile strike force vehicle, a derivative of Textron Marine and Land Systems' M1117 armored security vehicle, used by U.S., Canadian and other forces, around the world.

The power elite will be ble to crises sponds to Quickly and with mass and firepower, giving a new set of Kabul options When faced with a variety of fast-moving and unpredictable terrorism threats.

Increase the area to cover They Can, five kandaks are slated to Remain in the Kabul area, while two more will go to Kandahar in the south oz Their training is complete, officials Involved with the program said. Two units Have already gone through training, one is stationed in Darulaman outside Kabul, and the other is Deployed to Kandahar.

401st Completes M1114 Vehicle Transfer to Afghan National Army

A historic mission for the 401st Army Field Support Brigade came to an end, Nov. 12, when AFSBn-Bagram issued 49 M1114 vehicles to the Afghan National Army, under a Foreign Military Sales case.

The 49 vehicles were the last of more than 950 vehicles that were involved in the program that lasted about two and one-half years. Before the vehicles were turned over to the ANA, they were completely checked and restored to a fully mission capable status at AFSBn-Bagram and Camp Lindsey near Kandahar. In some cases, the vehicle was practically rebuilt from the ground up, while other vehicles required only minor repair and refurbishment.

"Almost every component [of the vehicle] was touched," said Michael A. Fiame, 401st AFSB equipment specialist. "The suspension, tires, whatever was needed."

For approximately one year, AFSBn-BAF conducted a maintenance mentorship program in which Afghan soldiers worked alongside battalion mechanics to learn more about the vehicles and improve their proficiency in maintaining them. They worked on the very vehicles that were turned over to the ANA under the sales case.

Can Afghan troops hold off the Taliban after Nato withdraws?

The umbilical connection between the US marines at Camp Leatherneck and the new model Afghan army in Camp Shorabak is a sandy chicane known as Friendship Gate, where Helmand's Afghan garrison draws sustenance from its departing foreign advisers. Its dominant feature is a fortified American-manned heavy machine gun, pointing towards the Afghans.
The formidable weapon permanently aimed at a supposed ally is silent testimony to a relationship that is crucial to Helmand's future but remains a volatile mix of dependence, mutual admiration and deep distrust.
The Afghan National Army (ANA) 215th Corps is now 17,000-strong, gaining in confidence and competence and, according to local polling, generally well respected. It has managed to hold on to the main population areas in Helmand in the face of a Taliban attempt to retake lost territory and as a result the province's towns are much safer than they were a year ago.
But the ANA still cannot fight on its own. Only one of the 215th Corps' four brigades is anywhere near full battle readiness. In fact, a Pentagon report in early December revealed that only one of the ANA's 23 brigades across the country had reached that point. The Taliban's success in infiltrating its ranks has contributed to the number of "green-on-blue", or insider attacks, in which Afghan troops turn their guns on their foreign mentors. There were 12 such attacks in Helmand in 2012, all fatal, sawing away at the bonds of trust on which the Nato exit strategy is based.
Even more importantly, there are early signs that the ANA may be struggling to hold the line on a critical front in the war: the ability to protect Afghan civilians from the Taliban.

Canadians in Afghanistan: what Operation Attention?

Nicolas Laffont is currently on assignment in Afghanistan with the Canadian Forces deployed for Operation Attention. 

For more than a decade that the Afghan war has begun and Canadians have been present since January 2002.

The combat mission in Kandahar which was based in the south of the country, ended in July 2011.

Since the present contingent of Canadian military declined to about 900 soldiers train Afghan security forces. This is what the military calls Operation Please note that the Canadian Contribution Training Mission - Afghanistan (CCFM-A).

Trainers, teachers, educators, advisors, ... In the context of this operation, Canada sent its military to provide support for training and professional development for national security forces of Afghanistan: Afghan National Army (ANA) Afghan Air Force (AAF) and the Afghan National Police (ANP).

The aim is to support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan when NATO troops leave the country in 2014.

The Government of Canada has allocated a budget of nearly $ 700 million per year between 2011 and 2014 (500 million military presence, 85 million for the installation and close the training mission and 100 million in aid and development ).

After a rotation 0 in July 2011 and one rotation in February 2012, is now the "roto" 2 to be in control.Feature of this deployment? They are almost all Quebecers.

Despite progress, the Afghan army is not able to replace NATO

Give Afghans forces capable of ensuring national security, was the ambition that justified the timing of NATO in the country until foreign troops leave in 2014.

But this goal was, the image of the coalition strategy defined by the United States, subject to late decisions and changing. Training of the Afghan army began only in 2008. Today, despite undeniable progress, despite the pride expressed by the Afghan officers in the field, the strength of Afghan troops remains a "strategic risk," he said, Monday, Nov. 19 in Kabul, General Oliver Bavinchove, Chief of Staff of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

NATO says being in the final phase of equipment and training of a force of 352,000 soldiers and 30,000 police officers in total, by the end 2014. Year deadline defined in the NATO summit in Lisbon in late 2010, as reasonable. Schedule as ambitions were reviewed.

Glaring deficiencies

In 2011, the model considered "sustainable" financially Washington was reduced to 228,000 men, at an annual cost of $ 4.1 billion (3.2 billion euros). It would have meant to demobilize 30,000 Afghans each year for three years, an idea considered untenable by several allies, including France. ISAF proposes to maintain the goal of training 352,000 men, over a longer period, for an "extra" $ 1 billion per year. Between allies, difficult negotiations are underway for the fund.

Or, say military experts, it takes twenty-five years to train a professional army. The Afghan National Army (ANA) has real fighters, but it suffers from glaring deficiencies. The basic material has not yet happened in all the regiments, especially due to the blocking of the port of Karachi in recent months. The timing of NATO plans to complete this capital plan in the fall 2013.

Afghanistan: FOB Nijrab transfer the 201st Corps of the Afghan National Army

The November 20, 2012 at 10am, took place the ceremony formalizing the transfer of Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Nijrab 201st Corps of the Afghan National Army. The departure of the French troops Nijrab marks the end of French operations in Kapisa and the withdrawal of troops directly involved in combat operations in Afghanistan.

Until this date, 500 soldiers were still present on the Nijrab FOB: Battle of the last soldiers Steel Group, advisors (advisory team) Kandak 33 and elements of Task Force (TF) La Fayette.

After the handover ceremony between General Hautecloque, commander of TF La Fayette, and General Waziri, commanding the 201st Corps of the Afghan National Army, French soldiers joined the present Warehouse camp in Kabul before returning to France by the end of the year. It is mainly soldiers 16èmebataillon hunters Bitche (16th BC), 13th Engineer Regiment (13èmeRG) Valdahon and 19th Engineer Regiment (19th RG) of Besançon.

Disengagement Nijrab FOB went perfectly. All material on this FOB has been several logistical convoys to Kabul. It will be repatriated to France in the coming months.

The last French elements still present Naghlu and Mahmud E Raqi be disengaged in the coming days.These are AT Kandak of 34 and 35 and a liaison detachment.

Afghan National Army and National Police officials are abusing their professional privileges

Afghan National Army and National Police officials are abusing their professional privileges and using government property for personal use, lawmakers said on Saturday.

Parliamentarians said the use of army or police vehicles on vacation days and for family recreation is illegal and needs to be stopped.

"We saw lots of families in the vacation days like Eid using police vehicles – that is against law," Herat MP Naheed Farid said.

Khost MP Kamal Naser Osolee said some officials are also allowing their children to use the government property.

"High officials of the Interior and Defense Ministries are using governmental vehicles for their personal purposes and give the vehicles to their sons," he said.

They also added that these security officials drive too fast, ignoring traffic laws, by using their privilege.

"We repeatedly have seen that in recreational places in Kabul and in the provinces, the people who are going to a picnic use police cars and the sirens," MP Mohammad Reza Khoshak Watandost said.
The Ministry of Defense responded to the claims saying says any official found to be doing these things will face prosecution.

For Afghan Policewomen, Sex Abuse Is A Job Hazard

"Anywhere you ask for a job in the police force, they either ask you to give yourself or bring them  girls" 

The image of Afghan women wearing police and army uniforms is meant to inspire pride and hope for a future where the rights of women will be protected in Afghanistan.

So why would female police officers in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif be ashamed to admit they wear the badge?

"Except my very close family members, no one really knows that I am a police officer," said one woman at a NATO training session.

The woman, who asked not to give her name, says she tells most of her family that she works with a foreign aid organization. That's because the rumors about sexual abuse in Mazar-e-Sharif's police force are so widespread that many of these women are ashamed to say they're cops.

 Afghan female police officers are trained by Afghan police and NATO soldiers in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province on Sept. 12. In the culturally conservative country, women serving in the security forces say they face systemic sexual coercion and even rape by male colleagues

Profound Inequality

Protection of women's rights in Afghanistan remains a focal point for the West — and American officials regularly tout the fact that the Afghan security forces now include hundreds of women. In northern Afghanistan alone, about 300 women are serving in the police force.

But in a culture that is not fully comfortable with women working outside the home, these women face significant risks. An NPR investigation in the city discovered disturbing allegations of systematic sexual coercion and even rape of female police officers by their male colleagues.

The women at the recent training session at a huge base outside Mazar-e-Sharif hardly looked like victims as they assembled and loaded assault rifles. But none dared to give their names as they alluded to what is an open secret in the city.

"Some women are being promoted only if they agree to give sexual favors," said one female officer.

Most of the female police have many children, and most are poor. Though they say they'd like to serve their country, just as many say they joined the police because the pay — about $300 a month — is better than working as a maid or a teacher. The threat of job loss is a powerful one.

None of the policewomen on the training course — which consisted of a mix of men and women — would admit to being victims of sexual coercion.

Shocking Stories Of Rape

But privately, several told of terrifying experiences. The women agreed to speak on the condition that their names be withheld, and the only place they felt safe enough to talk with a reporter was in a car moving around the city.

"It's a fact. Women in the police are being used for sex and as prostitutes," said Ann — not her real name — who is in her mid-30s.

"It's happened to me. Male cops ask for sex openly because they think women join the police just to work as prostitutes," she said.

What do you think? what is the reason of increase in attacks of Afghan national army on Nato Isaf

Asian Defence News

Afghan army at arm's length

AUSTRALIA has suspended some joint patrols with Afghan soldiers amid fears the anti-Islam film that has sparked violence across the world could heighten the risk of insider attacks.

In keeping with an order from the International Security Assistance Force - of which Australia is a member - the Defence Minister, Stephen Smith, said yesterday joint operations between Australians and Afghans in Oruzgan province had been halted for the past two days.

But the abrupt way the decision was announced by ISAF has drawn strong criticism from one retired general for embarrassing Australia and Britain, who were caught by surprise.

Mr Smith told Parliament yesterday no joint patrols below the level of battalions - made up of 500 or 600 soldiers - had taken place on Monday and Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Australian and Afghan National Army commanders were holding talks with the ISAF southern regional commander about resuming joint patrols.

Mr Smith could not say how long that would take.

Records Missing On Afghan Army Fuel Costs

The American and NATO training missions in Afghanistan have told United States government investigators that more than four years of financial records covering about $475 million worth of fuel purchases for the Afghan National Army may have been shredded, raising concerns about potential fraud.

Additionally, the agency also says that American and NATO forces have no proper system in place for estimating the Afghan Army’s future fuel requirements, a critical point now because control over the budget on fuel spending is about to be increased and handed over from United States and NATO authority to the Afghan government.

The findings come out of a report to be published Monday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the government agency charged with accounting for how billions of dollars in American reconstruction funds are being spent.

Warning about the potential for theft and waste, the agency recommended that future fuel spending for Afghan forces, proposed to rise to about $555 million in 2014, should be reduced and frozen at 2012 levels, about $306 million annually, until proper methods for accountability and estimating the Afghan Army’s fuel requirements are established.

New Armor Boosts ANA Capabilities

The Afghan National Army (ANA) will increase their capabilities as a fighting force with the addition of the Mobile Strike Force Vehicle (MSFV).

“These vehicles will give the ANA an armored capability that they can use as the coalition forces draw down,” said British Maj. Tim Jones, NATO Training Mission- Afghanistan, Deputy Commander- Army program manager for Mobile Strike Force.

MSFV’s will be disbursed throughout seven Kandaks (battalions); four located in Kabul with a brigade headquarters and three near Kandahar with a brigade headquarters. Each Kandak will receive 58 MSFV’s in a three-variant mix of 31 Armored Personnel Carriers with Turret, 24 Armored Personnel Carriers with Objective Gunners Protective Kit (OGPK) and three Armored Ambulances.

Afghan army arrest hundreds over insider attacks

Hundreds of Afghan soldiers have been arrested or expelled over a rising number of attacks on Nato colleagues, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
On more than 30 occasions so far this year, members of the Afghan security forces have opened fire on their Western allies, killing at least 45 foreign troops — the majority of them American.
Defence ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi told a news conference on Wednesday that the attacks were “a matter of concern” for the Afghan government.
“So far, hundreds of people have either been arrested or expelled from the army. We have found evidence against some people and some suspicious people have been arrested,” he said.

Afghan Human Rights Commission Defends Khalid Appointment

The Afghan government-linked Independent Human Rights Commission (IHRC) said Saturday that it was confident of Asadullah Khalid's appointment as the country's next intelligence chief after an international human rights organisation called for him to be dropped because of his history of using torture.

The IHRC commissioner, himself appointed by President Hamid Karzai, said Khalid's past had already been investigated, but he did not discuss what the findings were.
"Regarding Mr Khalid, there were complaints about him when he was the governor of Kandahar, but the Independent Human Rights Commission reviewed the complaints in coordination with Khalid himself," IHRC commissioner told TOLOnews.
"For the time being, the Human Rights Commission urges Mr Khalid or anyone else who will hold this position to stay committed to upholding human rights and the law, to consider all the national and international human rights regulations, and avoid any kind of violation."

Khalid, currently Minister for Border and Tribal Affairs, is expected to be appointed head of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) after Rahumatullah Nabil was stood down by President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a statement Friday urging the Afghan government to drop Khalid and instead appoint someone with a more exemplary record.
"The NDS is desperately in need of reform to end its use of torture," HRW Asia director Brad Adams said in the statement. "President Karzai should use the appointment of a new NDS chief to demonstrate his commitment to ending torture by choosing someone whose integrity and commitment to human rights is above reproach."
Khalid has previously held positions as provincial gover

US Troops Build 'Alamos' Against Insider Attacks

U.S. military units have resorted to building hardened safe rooms, or what they call "Alamos," to protect themselves from potential attacks from the soldiers and police officers they are training, according to a report from Stars & Stripes.
Troops have built the safe rooms as U.S. and NATO commanders receive almost daily reports of supposed Afghan security forces turning their guns on their trainers. U.S. military leaders have urged troops to maintain partnerships, but also use caution.
"Well, you have to take precautions" although close partnership is still the strategy, said Alexander Vershbow, the deputy Secretary-General of NATO and a veteran U.S. diplomat. "But you have to take precautions that won't undermine success."
Vershbow seemed taken aback when asked Wednesday about small groups of U.S. troops building hardened safe rooms on forward bases controlled by Afghans to retreat to in case of trouble, as reported Wednesday by Stars & Stripes.
At Fort Irwin, Calif., last week, where troops were training for deployment to Afghanistan, Army Command Sgt. Maj. William Johnson of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Kabul said the safe room technique was a last resort for isolated troops who might be in a precarious position.
"What can we do, say, if we have another Quran burning incident" such as happened earlier this year with the accidental burning of the Muslim holy book? "How would our small group protect themselves?" Johnson said.

Over 600 Afghan soldiers killed during the past 2 months

Hundreds of Afghan national army soldiers were killed in various incidents across the country during the past two months, Afghan defense ministry officials said on Monday.

Afghan defense ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi on Monday told reporters at least 616 Afghan national army soldiers were killed in Nawid military operations since 21 June 2012.

The statistics shows an increase in Afghan national army casualties as compared to the same period in 2011.

According to Afghan defense ministry officials, majority of the Afghan army service members have been killed in roadside improvised explosive device explosions.

Taliban militants and other insurgents groups frequently use improvised explosive device as the weapon of their choice to target Afghan and coalition security forces.

The National Directorate of Security (NDS) confirmed the death of Haqqani network

The National Directorate of Security (NDS) confirmed the death of Haqqani network operational commander, Badruddin Haqqani. The deputy NDS spokesperson, Shafiqullah Tahiri, said that Badruddin Haqqani’s death was a hard and unrecoverable blow to the network. Meanwhile, some Pakistani intelligence officials also confirmed his death. However, the Afghani Taliban rejected Haqqani’s death. Former NDS chief, Amrullah Saleh, said that killing of terrorist group leaders will not have lasting impact in reducing terror attacks unless their safe havens are destroyed.

The Taliban, Haqqani network and other terrorist groups decided in a meeting to flee northern Waziristan and move to Afghanistan together with some civilians ahead of a major Pakistani military operation in the area, Pakistani media reported. Meanwhile, security forces in Afghanistan warned that they were ready to crack down on the militants and prevent their entry into Afghanistan.

If the Government doesn’t seriously monitor public uprisings in various provinces, the possibility will increase that regional intelligence agencies will use these uprisings in their favour, a number of Senators warned on Sunday. "A delegation from the Afghan parliament should go to these provinces and monitor the uprising closely," said Afghan Senator Zalmai Zabuli.

US military has built a forensic academy to teach the latest crime-solving techniques & detective work to the Afghan security forces.

 The FBI style forensic academy is scheduled to be handed over to Afghan control by the end of 2013.

Afghan Troops Find It's Tough Going It Alone

Months after handover of U.S. outpost, a profusion of problems

After U.S. soldiers left Combat Outpost Conlon in February — packing up weapons, generators and portable toilets — their Afghan successors rushed to the American barracks and command center, eager to inspect their inheritance.

The Afghans renamed Conlon in Dari and scrawled Koran verses on the walls. The base was now theirs, and they were proud.

Months later, it’s a dismal scene. The 240 Afghan soldiers are down to three hours of electricity a day. Almost all of their vehicles have broken down. They don’t have the night-vision goggles needed to guard their base after sunset.

As the Taliban ramped up its attacks in eastern Afghanistan's Wardak province this spring, the Afghan soldiers here came to a painful conclusion: They were not ready to take on the fight alone. But it was too late — the Americans were not coming back.

The transition of Combat Outpost Conlon to Afghan control — marked by a flag-raising ceremony and a visit from top U.S. military brass — was an early milestone in the NATO drawdown that will continue through 2014.

Afghans Fear U.S. Troop Departure

Many Afghans say they're afraid their country will fall apart when U.S. and international troops leave two years from now.


KABUL, Afghanistan — Asadullah Ramin has lost all hope in his homeland. He’s so worried about what will happen when U.S. and international troops leave that he’s ready to pay a smuggler to whisk his family out of Afghanistan.

It would cost the 50-year-old, self-employed electronics engineer tens of thousands of dollars to leave his middle-class life in the Afghan capital and start a new chapter with his wife and their three daughters. He has done OK in recent years, even getting contracts from the foreign forces, and he has warm memories of Kabul from his teens – before Soviet forces invaded the nation.

But he wouldn’t hesitate for a moment. He already paid to have his two sons smuggled to a European county he won’t disclose.

“If I could go in the next hour, I would leave everything — the house, my shop,” Ramin said.

“I have no hope, no hope,” he said, opening his palms as if pleading to be understood.