DOD OFFICIAL EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE IN AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Kirby Confident Afghans Can Take Full Security Control Next Month
By Nick Simeone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2014 – With less than a month to go before the U.S-led NATO combat mission ends in Afghanistan, a senior Defense Department official said today Afghan security forces will be ready to take over the job of securing their country come January first.

“We believe that we have achieved the mission of getting Afghan national security forces to that level,” Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters. “They are in the lead right now and by the end of this month they will have full responsibility.”

Some 9,800 U.S. troops are set to remain in Afghanistan next year, as part of Operation Resolute Support. That NATO mission follows 13 years of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, and will no longer include a combat role but will instead focus on training, advising and assisting Afghan forces.
“There’s still some enabling capabilities that they may need going forward and we’re talking about that. That’s part of the Resolute Support NATO mission,” Kirby added.

In recent days, there has been an increase in attacks claimed by the Taliban on key sites around the country, including in the capital, Kabul. Kirby said the attacks did not signal a Taliban resurgence but were to be expected during periods of transition.

“Those attacks have had no strategic effect and I might add that the Afghan national security forces and police reacted bravely and quickly to each one,” he said.

U.S. MARINES AND U.K. SERVICE MEMBERS LEAVE HELMAND BASES IN HANDS OF AFGHAN FORCES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Left:  Marines and sailors with Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan load onto a KC-130 aircraft at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, Oct. 27, 2014. The Marine Corps ended its mission in Helmand province the day prior. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. John Jackson.  

Marines, Brits Turn Over Helmand Bases to Afghan Forces
By Marine Corps 1st Lt. Skye Martin
Regional Command Southwest

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2014 – U.S. Marines and service members from the United Kingdom left Regional Command Southwest in Afghanistan’s Helmand province today, turning their facilities over to the Afghan security forces.

The lift-off followed a ceremony held at the former command post of Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan at Camp Leatherneck, signifying the transfer of Camps Bastion and Leatherneck to the control of the Afghan National Army’s 215th Corps.

Regional Command Southwest is the first of the International Security Assistance Force commands to transfer authority to the Afghan national security forces as ISAF moves toward the Resolute Support mission that begins in 2015.
During the past year, Bosnia, Estonia, Denmark, Georgia, Jordan and Tonga ended their operations in Regional Command Southwest.
‘A very, very tough area’

Army Gen. John F. Campbell, ISAF commander, acknowledged that Helmand has been a “very, very tough area,” and he expressed confidence in the Afghan forces. “We feel very confident with the Afghan security forces as they continue to grow in their capacity and they continue to work better between the police and the army," he said.

Above:  U.S. Marine Corps and British Royal Air Force helicopters fly in formation after departing Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. John Jackson.

Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, commander of ISAF Joint Command, echoed that confidence. "We lift off confident in the Afghans’ ability to secure the region,” he said. “The mission has been complex, difficult and dangerous. Everyone has made tremendous sacrifices, but those sacrifices have not been in vain."

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Daniel D. Yoo, commander of Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan, said today’s transfer is a sign of progress. “It's not about the coalition,” he said. “It is really about the Afghans and what they have achieved over the last 13 years. What they have done here is truly significant.”
The Marines, sailors and British service members flew to Kandahar Airfield after the ceremony and will return home in the coming weeks.

DOD REPORT TO CONGRESS STRESSES PROGRESS BY AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Report Points to Afghan Progress, Challenges

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2014 – While Afghan security forces did an outstanding job protecting their people during the April election, they are not yet ready to shoulder the burden alone, according to the Defense Department’s congressionally mandated semiannual Report on Security and Stability in Afghanistan.

The report, released to Congress today, said Afghan forces grew in numbers and capabilities over the reporting period that ended March 31, and held their own against the insurgency.

Disrupting the April 5 election was an insurgent goal, yet their “territorial and kinetic capabilities remained static,” according to the report.

The election was a test of Afghan forces and the electoral process, and all reports indicate they did well. “The [Afghan national security forces] and Afghan election institutions laid the groundwork for a successful election, registering millions of voters and securing thousands of polling sites, with minimal international assistance,” the report said. “These preparations far surpassed Afghanistan’s efforts in the 2009 and 2010 elections.”

Afghan forces defended the election sites and prevented high-profile attacks across the country. Voter turnout was high.

The election is just one example of the real progress Afghanistan has made, the report says, noting that the government maintains control of the cities and all provincial capitals. Insurgent attacks are away from these centers. Polling data shows most Afghans view the security forces favorably. Afghan forces now conduct almost all operations independently.

American and coalition casualties are a quarter of what they were in 2010, the report says, and violence indicators are down from a year ago. These include a 2 percent drop in enemy-initiated attacks, an 8 percent drop in complex attacks and a 24 percent drop in improvised explosive device events.

Still, there are challenges. Logistics and sustainment capabilities lag well behind the operational progress. “Afghan National Army attrition was higher than its target, and corruption continued,” the report says. “Although the International Security Assistance Force continues to develop capabilities, [Afghan forces require] more time and effort to close four key high-end capability gaps that will remain after the ISAF mission ends on December 31, 2014: air support; intelligence enterprise; special operations; and Afghan security ministry capacity.”
International funding and coalition force assistance will be critical to sustaining the force after 2014, the report says. If a second-round runoff election is required -- and indications today are that it will be -- securing the runoff during the summer fighting season will test Afghan forces.

But uncertainties dog signs of progress. Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to sign the already negotiated bilateral security agreement with the United States means uncertainty for what follows the end of the International Security Assistance Force mission. No coalition country can forecast their post-2014 presence. The Taliban are trying to capitalize on the absence of an agreement to instill fear among Afghans.

While NATO planning has been for a post-2014 force to train and advise with 8,000 to 12,000 troops, President Barack Obama has not yet made any decision on the number of U.S. troops that may be kept in Afghanistan if the Afghan government signs the agreement.

Part of this effort is because of the lack of logistics expertise. From the ministries down to the tactical level, Afghanistan’s national government faced a major challenge in developing an effective, integrated logistics and sustainment system for the Afghan forces, the report says, adding that a lack of trained maintenance technicians, combined with a logistics system that struggled to resupply units in the field, adversely affected every component of Afghanistan’s security forces. Afghan forces relied on coalition forces for limited enabler support, particularly in the areas of close-air support, casualty evacuation, logistics, counter-IED, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

Problems in the government mean Afghanistan cannot capitalize on security gains. “Challenges in governance and sustainable economic development slowed the reinforcement and consolidation of security gains,” the report says. “Ongoing insurgent activity and influence inhibited economic development and improvements in governance. Predatory corruption, criminal patronage, weak rule of law, and reliance on the funding for the insurgency from narco-trafficking are factors which hindered the ability of the [Afghan forces and the national government’s local] governance structures to maintain a secure environment and provide essential service delivery.”

Immature infrastructure exacerbates these problems, the report adds.

AFGHAN FORCES WILL SOON TAKE LEAD IN NATION'S SECURITY

President Barack Obama and Ambassador Capricia Marshall, Chief of Protocol, wave to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan as he departs from the North Portico of the White House, Jan. 11, 2013.(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Afghan Forces Accelerate Taking Security Lead in Country
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2013 - Afghan forces will take the lead for security throughout Afghanistan this spring rather than at mid-year, President Barack Obama announced at a White House news conference today.

Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke following White House meetings.

The Afghan president emphasized that the number of American forces that will remain in Afghanistan after the NATO mission concludes at the end of 2014 is not crucial.

"Numbers are not going to make a difference to the situation in Afghanistan," Karzai said. "It's the broader relationship that will make a difference to Afghanistan and beyond in the region. The specifics of numbers are issues that the military will decide and Afghanistan will have no particular concern when we are talking of numbers and how they are deployed."

Afghan forces will be in the lead sooner than planned, Obama said. U.S. and NATO forces have been training Afghan police and soldiers, who have progressed to the point where they are able to take the lead, Obama said. "We are able to meet those goals and accelerate them somewhat," he said. "What's going to happen this spring is that Afghans will be in the lead throughout the country."

U.S. forces will still be in the fight, the president said. "It does mean, though, that Afghans will have taken the lead and our presence, the nature of our work, will be different," he said. "We will be in a training, assisting, advising role."

This will lead to a responsible end to the war in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, the president said. "This progress is only possible because of the incredible sacrifices of our troops and our diplomats, the forces of our many coalition partners, and the Afghan people, who've endured extraordinary hardship," he added.

Obama noted that more than 2,000 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001, and tens of thousands have been wounded. "These are patriots that we honor today, tomorrow, and forever," he said.

The president promised that the number of U.S. service members in Afghanistan will continue to drop over the next year. Some 66,000 Americans are deployed to the nation now. "I've pledged we'll continue to bring our forces home at a steady pace," he said. "And in the coming months, I'll announce the next phase of our drawdown, a responsible drawdown that protects the gains our troops have made."

Karzai and Obama discussed the still to be worked out bilateral security agreement between the two nations. Part of this is a status of forces agreement, which will protect American service members. Both said they think an agreement is possible this year.

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL RASMUSSEN BELIEVES IN SUPPORTING AFGHANISTAN BEYOND 2014 PULL-OUT

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

NATO Conference Focuses on Post-2014 Afghanistan

By Karen Parrish

BRUSSELS, April 18, 2012 - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen today emphasized support to Afghanistan beyond 2014 in remarks opening a conference of the alliance's defense and foreign ministers here.

Rasmussen noted the NATO summit in Chicago is a month away. "We have important work to do today and tomorrow to help set the stage," he said.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force has been engaged in Afghanistan since 2001, and Rasmussen said the alliance will continue to support that nation beyond 2014.

Meetings of NATO defense and foreign ministers today and tomorrow will shape the decisions on Afghanistan that the alliance's heads of state and government will make in Chicago, Rasmussen said, including completing the transition to Afghan security lead by the end of 2014 and what form NATO's contributions in Afghanistan will take after that transfer.

Rasmussen noted Afghan security forces defeated coordinated enemy attacks April 15 in and around Afghanistan's capital of Kabul.

"This shows that the Afghan security forces can deal with dangers and difficulties, and they are getting stronger every day," the secretary general said.

He said his clear message to Afghanistan's enemies is that they can't just wait NATO out. "As we gradually draw down," he added, "a still stronger Afghan security force is taking charge to protect the Afghan people against brutality and inhumanity."

NATO will maintain a training mission and financial support to Afghan security forces beyond 2014, Rasmussen said. "We must make sure we maintain the gains made with so much investment in lives and resources," he added.

Even in tough financial times, the secretary general said, supporting the Afghan forces is "a good deal in financial and political terms."

NATO remains committed to its strategy and its long-term partnership with Afghanistan, Rasmussen said.

"This is our message to the people of Afghanistan, to the enemies of Afghanistan, and to the neighbors of Afghanistan," he said, "because it is in the interest of our own security."

Before a morning meeting of defense ministers this morning, Rasmussen said their discussion would center on alliance "smart defense" efforts to acquire capabilities jointly that the alliance will need to counter future threats. Smart defense, he said, "means setting the right priorities. We must specialize in what we do best and focus resources on what we need most. And we must work together to deliver capabilities that many nations cannot afford on [their] own."

At the Chicago summit next month, Rasmussen said, NATO will demonstrate its commitment "to continue to invest political, military and economic capital in a transatlantic alliance that is fully fit to deal with the security challenges of today and tomorrow."

In a news conference following the morning session, he announced ministers have prepared an interim missile defense plan for Europe, with details to be announced in Chicago.

NATO defense ministers also discussed a "connected forces" initiative to be finalized at the Chicago summit, he added. This agreement will strengthen member nations' coordinated education, training and technology efforts, the secretary general said.

Financial support to Afghan forces after 2014 is expected to cost $4 billion per year, Rasmussen added, though details of NATO nations' contributions to that total have not been finalized.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton are both here for the NATO meetings, and are scheduled to hold a joint news conference later today.