Stabilization: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan

Abstract

Stabilization: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan is the fourth lessons learned report issued by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The report examines the U.S. stabilization effort in Afghanistan, detailing how the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Departments of State and Defense tried to support and legitimize the Afghan government in contested districts from 2002 through 2017. The report identifies lessons to inform U.S. policies and actions to stabilize a country or region before and during a contingency operation and provides recommendations to do so. With the rise of the Islamic State and its affiliates, making poorly governed spaces inhospitable to transnational terrorist groups remains a vital U.S. national security priority. Our analysis reveals the U.S. government greatly overestimated its ability to build and reform government institutions in Afghanistan as part of its stabilization strategy. We found the stabilization strategy and the programs used to achieve it were not properly tailored to the Afghan context, and successes in stabilizing Afghan districts rarely lasted longer than the physical presence of coalition troops and civilians. As a result, by the time all prioritized districts had transitioned from coalition to Afghan control in 2014, the services and protection provided by Afghan forces and civil servants often could not compete with a resurgent Taliban as it filled the void in newly vacated territory. SIGAR began its lessons learned program in late 2014 at the urging of General John Allen, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and others who had served in Afghanistan.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2018
Accession Number
AD1139293

Entities

People

  • David H. Young
  • Elizabeth Young
  • John Sopko
  • Jordan Kane
  • Jordan Schurter
  • Joseph Windrem
  • Olivia Paek
  • Paul Kane

Organizations

  • Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Biomedical
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Business Administration
  • Data Analysis
  • Department Of State
  • Employment
  • Interagency Coordination
  • International Organizations
  • Management Personnel
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • National Governments
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.

Technology Areas

  • Space