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from closed caption. starting a few seconds after it started, saying the report was prepared for for the generals in afghanistan.
richard engel and rachel
And it talks about the readiness
of the afghan security forces,
primarily, the afghan national
army, to understand the context
of this, the main mission of the
united states army, all of the
different forces that are there,
is to train the afghan security
forces so that american forces
can ultimately leave.
>> That is the main point of
what we're doing?
>> That is the number one
priority.
The reason 30,000 extra troops
are going there is to try to
create enough security so that
an afghan army can be built.
I was told this by numerous
commanders.
Number one priority, this report
says that that priority is
facing serious, serious
problems, and the military knows
it.
This was an independent study if
i could just read a few things,
it talks about how -- the
opening statement, the ana,
which is afghan national army,
above company level is not at
war.
Now, company level means the
small unit.
The soldiers on the ground
they're fighting, above 150
soldiers, anything colonel,
general, anything at that level,
according to this report doesn't
believe he's at war.
They talk about corruption.
Nepotism, corruption,
absenteeism among ana leaders
makes success impossible.
Change must come quickly.
Another line, if afghan
political leaders do not place
competent people in charge, no
amount of coalition support will
suffice in the long term.
It's more than sobering.
It says that this is a serious
challenge.
It goes on to say that
rehabilitating the afghan
security forces will not take
one year, it will take a long
time.
>> So they give a time frame
about how long it would take if
it was going to happen?
>> No, I heard they're thinking
about four years, and the reason
that the dates are important is
there is this key speech by
president obama, he said he
wants to start dialling back the
surge 18, roughly 18 months, the
summer of 2011.
18 months from when he announced
it.
That is impossible according to
this study to get the afghan
security forces u and running
and in place.
And even with some sort of
semblance.
Another key finding in this
report says that the numbers of
afghan troops and police that
are on the ground are
inaccurate.
That some battalions will
overreport by 40 to 50%, inflate
their numbers.
It's a sobering --
>> In short, this internal
assessment which was not meant
for zrib burks which has been
made available to you, which is
in itself a story, says that
what we know about the current
strength of afghan army and
police is wrong?
That it's -- it's been
overstated?
>> It's been overstated.
>> Everyone the time line that
the president laid out.
>> It can't work.
>> Can't work.
It explicitly says this can't
happen in 18 months?
>> There's a line that says,
cannot take a year to fix this
problem.
And they go on and on describing
the problems with the
leadership.
Many ana leaders work short
days, are often absent and place
personal gain above national
survival.
So when you hear all of these
things, it should raise a degree
of concern.
If the primary mission, and I've
been told the primary mission is
to train the afghan security
forces, it is more than a sober
accessment.
It shows we have a lot of work
to do.
>> If this reflects the view of
the military, this says that the
military does not believe it is
possible to do what president
obama says the mission is in
afghanistan.
>> This was prepared for the
military.
>> Yes.
>> The top commanders want and
I've been told this, that
general petrais wants realistic,
not optimistic assessments,
that's a quote from a spokesman
tonight about this.
They say this report is not
complete yet, it's a report in
progress, and they -- but they
do recognize there are serious
shortcomings in the afghan
security forces.
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