| Submit your comments on this article |
| Afghanistan |
| Afghan forces still shrinking, security gaps growing |
| 2019-01-31 |
| WASHINGTON (AP) ‐ As the Trump administration pushes for peace in Afghanistan, a new U.S. watchdog report says Afghan security forces are shrinking, gaps in security are growing, and the Taliban are largely holding their own despite a surge in American bombing. These trends reflect what U.S. military officials call a stalemated war, more than 17 years after U.S. forces invaded following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Gauges of battlefield momentum have changed little over the past year, according to a watchdog agency known as the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. In a report to Congress on Thursday, it said the Afghan government controls or influences 54 percent of districts, down from 56 percent a year earlier, and the Taliban’s share slipped from 14 percent to 12 percent. Contested territory increased from 30 percent to 34 percent. The Pentagon insists that military pressure on the Taliban is mounting. Last year the U.S. vastly increased its use of air power in support of Afghan forces. According to U.S. Central Command data, U.S. aircraft dropped 6,823 bombs in the first 11 months of 2018. That compares with 4,361 bombs dropped in all of 2017. Even so, the Afghan government has been unable to expand its control of the country, and analysts say an outright military victory by either side is beyond reach. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #3 😂 |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2019-01-31 12:47 |
| #2 Also, many Afghan troops are thinking "Without that guy I want to shoot in the back to protect me, I'm outta here..." |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2019-01-31 12:33 |
| #1 Or put another way: With the Foreign Troop Level decreasing the region of Afghanistan returns to its age old nature of being nominally ruled by a warlord whose real power waxes and wanes with the ephemeral alliances of the various clans. |
| Posted by: magpie 2019-01-31 12:21 |