The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a Pentagon watchdog, is warning that the Afghan military is in sharp decline over the last 12 months, as rising casualties and desertion rates far outstrip its ability to recruit.
Over 12 months, the Afghan security forces have 10% less personnel, down to around 300,000. While reports of growing casualties, struggling recruitment, and desertion have been common, this is the first actually data offered on the size of the problem.
The Afghan National Army wasn’t happy with the report, dismissing the SIGAR report as “not 100% fact.” They didn’t offer any specific corrections to the numbers, but insists Afghanistan has “enough” soldiers to fight, and that morale is very high.
SIGAR head John Sopko said that building up Afghan forces has been a top priority throughout the war, with the US spending billions of dollars on it. He said it was “worrying” that despite all that expense, the Afghan forces are shrinking.
the attrition rates are so high, that after 17 years you have to assume they are rerecruiting deserters who will repeat the process after training and pay.
The finest money laundering scheme ever created, and in plain sight.
brilliant I have to admit.
Afghani Allah [?only] struck deaf and dumb by the Big Bang and greedy by the Big Bank; thus, also all of his followers.
Allah dumb, evil? Well, any God that would work for any Christian God or Jesus has to be either dumb or evil or both at the same time.
Looks to me some Afghanis are, by deserting the Jesus’ army, onto it? I hope so!
Get paid a pittance fighting your government (the Taliban) on behalf of another country (the US)? And probably dying in the process? Sign me up!
“, down to around 300,000”
Like I believe that inflated number. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is more in the 30-50,000 range. Now the PAYROLL might be 300,000 just like it was in Iraq just before ISIS demonstrated that was a phantom army.
The US needs to get out of Afghanistan. 17 yrs. Insanity.
17 years in Afgan and still no jeffersonian democracy… Gee i would figure illiterate pedophiles would build the most progressive nation in the world! For some reason it continues to be a backwards hellhole.