Quality of Afghan army questioned by Pentagon

[unhappycamper]

Quality of Afghan army questioned by Pentagon
Ben Farmer and James Kirkup, The Daily Telegraph, with files from Matthew Fisher, Postmedia News · Wednesday, Jul. 14, 2010

Raising the competence of the Afghan army is central to the entire NATO strategy for Afghanistan, but a recent Pentagon report questions the quality and reliability of the force.

With the Afghan National Police widely regarded as corrupt and unreliable, even greater importance rests on the Afghan National Army (ANA). Western nations have said they will only withdraw their forces when the Afghans can secure the country themselves.

NATO leaders have repeatedly claimed that the ANA is making excellent progress, but those claims have been questioned by a U.S. government audit.

Arnold Fields, the U.S. Defense Department's inspector general for Afghanistan, concluded that the capabilities of many "top-rated" ANA units had been "overstated" by NATO commanders.

Several ANA units officially passed as able to operate without international support or guidance have not proved they are capable of independent operations, the auditor found in a report last month.

[Prometheus Bound]

1. Since NATO has been training them for 9 years, I'd say NATO training should be questioned.

[unhappycamper]

2. NATO = US.

Agreed.

I've posted numerous threads on this subject in GD:

7.3.2010: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8682112

7.3.2010: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8682120

6.12.2010: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8543143

6.12.2010: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8543132

6.2.2010: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8467891

5.18.2010: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8359321

5.12.2010: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8320035

5.7.2010: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8289039

[Diclotican]

3. Prometheus Bound

Prometheus Bound

Not easy to rebuild/build up an army from the ground up, when 90-95 pecent of them are on drugs, heroine is one of the biggest illness Afghanistan have this days, as the heroine is so in-expensive, that even the dirt poor farmer can get a shot on it.... As it have been writen many places here on Du the last couple of monts, it have been a increase of drug related cases, when even the higher ups in the ANA have been found stoned as a rock... And it have been writen a lot of stories, where whole villages, whole towns are falling appart, becouse of the drug who are so sheap that anyone with a penny can get some.. It horrible no less. The whole of Afghanistan are at stake here, becouse of the drug and the misuse of it..

What Afghanistan need and NATO have to do, is to end the drug handling where Afghanistan for the moment, is selling the world 98 percent of ALL opium/heroine produced... And for the most part, the war lords who are officially "allied" with NATO and US, is the one producing the drug.. Pickpoking the money to themself, and let NATO/US get the rest of the bill... And NATO are ill equipt, with handling drug related problems... As are US, who is there to fight Taliban, not to be a social worker for the afghan peopole...

I do not know what to do, but something have to bee doing here.. Maybe we should go after the producers of opium, at ground level, but also tacling the war lords, who is more or less independed of the government, and who are ruling their smal imperium as they se fit, and who is selling drugs in the form of heroine to the rest of the world... 90-98 Percent of the dam drug is exported to Europe, where they are making havoc in so many lives... If the devil ever would shoose a drug to pleague mankind with, heroine would have been his drug of shoice, im pretty sure about it...

Diclotican