Gates and Afghanistan's Army Posted by Patrick Barry

I was going to blog about the Afghanistan story in today's New York Times, but then our intern Alexis came up with something 10X more interesting:

Yesterday Defense Secretary Robert gates expressed his support for a $20 billion plan to double the size of the Afghan National Army. Much as Afghanistan could use this influx of attention and resources, I’m not sure I completely understand the logic behind this particular policy, especially after looking at this report from the GAO detailing the current state of both the Afghan National Army and Police, finding that:

“…only 2 of 105 army units are assessed as being fully capable of conducting their primary mission and efforts to develop the army continue to face challenges. First…it has experienced difficulties finding qualified candidates for leadership positions and retaining personnel. Second, while trainers or mentors are present in every ANA combat unit, shortfalls exist in the number deployed to the field. Finally, ANA combat units report significant shortages in about 40 percent of equipment items Defense defines as critical, including vehicles, weapons, and radios…”

So the Afghan National Army suffers from a lack of leadership, personnel shortages, equipment problems, and low readiness levels, and the U.S. is proposing to double its size? 

A more capable, expanded Afghan Army would certainly be welcome in Afghanistan given the country’s devolving security situation. However, before pouring $20 billion into the ANA, the U.S. must be careful to ensure that any expanded force would also be an effective one. 

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So the Afghan National Army suffers from a lack of leadership, personnel shortages, equipment problems, and low readiness levels, and the U.S. is proposing to double its size?

you know, remove "Afghan National" from this sentence and it still makes sense.

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