Aid Groups Dismiss US Claims of Afghan War Progress

Situation Actually Getting Dramatically Worse, Note Analysts

by Jason Ditz, December 28, 2010

The Obama Administration’s repeated official claims in the past few weeks that the Afghan War has turned some sort of corner and is improving, however slightly, is drawing increased scorn from the aid groups and other NGOs that have to face the actual security situation, as opposed to the reported situation.

“The situation is a lot more insecure this year than it was last year,” noted NGO Safety Office director Nic Lee, adding that “we don’t see COIN has had any impact on the five-year trajectory,” which has been, of course, a precipitous increase in violence coupled with repeated escalations by the US.

But while a number of aid workers are expressing a sentiment that is afoul of the President’s recent public “report” on the war, it is in strong keeping with the Pentagon’s publicly available, but much less publicized, report to Congress that was released just weeks prior.

That report also made vague claims of “progress” early on, but its content was universally negative and painted the picture of a war getting seriously worse and an insurgency getting stronger despite all the efforts against them.

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