The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is constantly struggling with Pentagon and the State Department trying to keep them from uncovering their various failures. Today, they reported an unprecedented such effort by the Pentagon.
One of the metrics the Pentagon has constantly put forward to prove its military progress in Afghanistan has been data relating to the creation of an Afghan military and national police force. Starting this month, they’ve decided all such information is classified.
The military is insisting that information on how many Afghan troops there are and how much its costing “could endanger American lives,” even though they’ve been providing this data as a matter of course for six straight years.
The Afghan government doesn’t consider the information secret themselves, so it is possible that portions of the data will slip out by way of them, though the Pentagon seems eager to avoid anything Afghan-themed going forward.
The timing of the new classification is likely not coincidental, but reflects the narrative of the war being “over.” The shift to a primarily “training” based mission would put even more attention on the training and how poorly it’s gone.
The Pentagon isn’t a fan of criticism, and has decided that instead they will just classify the data surrounding the war outright, allowing them to escape all oversight.
My new excuse for staying more or less anonymous here will be that my identity may "endanger public safety."
The military is insisting that information on how many Afghan troops there are and how much its costing “could endanger American lives,”
…and telling us could save AmeriKan lives? Not at all that you wanna hide how much money was stolen from the US taxpayer while you "trained" an Afghan National Army and police force?? HOW WELL DID THAT WORK OUT IN IRAQ
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
What gas been spent so far and, in particular, what it has paid for has certainly endangered American lives. Not just in Afghanistan but all around the globe.