Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

US Military Conceals Key Data on Afghan Security Forces

US Military Conceals Key Data on Afghan  Security Forces

KABUL - The American military has recently classified data on Afghan security forces’ casualties, personnel strength, attrition and the operational readiness of equipment, says a US government watchdog.
In its latest report, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said it was forced for the first time in eight years to give ballpark figures on force strength and authorised strength.
“Exact assigned strength, progress toward authorised strength, attrition and casualty data are critical for understanding ANDSF performance, readiness and mission success,” SIGAR said.
Data on attrition rates and casualty figures for Afghan security forces has also been concealed by US Forces-Afghanistan, arguing that the information belonged to the Afghan government.
“The Afghans know what’s going on; the Taliban knows what’s going on; the US military knows what’s going on,” John F. Sopko, the special inspector general, said in an interview. “The only people who don’t know what’s going on are the people paying for it.”
The US forces did not provide SIGAR with performance assessments on the Ministry of Defense or Ministry of Interior. The US military told SIGAR it was moving away from tracking Plan of Action and Milestones to assess progress of Afghan institutions.
Instead it will focus its assessments on the MoI and MoD through the new Afghan road map instituted by President Ashraf Ghani this year.

The Afghan government’s control of territory and population is at its lowest point since SIGAR has been reporting district and population control figures in 2015, according to the report. (Pajhwok)