Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Quarterly Report to the United States Congress

Abstract

The Administration directed the Department of Defense (DOD) this quarter to update troop levels in Afghanistan as part of a forthcoming new American strategy for the country. On June 13, 2017, Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee the United States is "not winning in Afghanistan right now, and we will correct this as soon as possible." According to SIGAR analysis published in this report, the new strategy comes after the United States has obligated an estimated $714 billion for all spending - including war fighting and reconstruction - in Afghanistan over more than 15 years. Of this amount, an estimated $675 billion has been obligated by DOD. Insurgents and terrorists carried out a number of deadly high-profile and insider attacks this quarter. On April 21, 2017, there was a suspected insider attack on the Afghan National Army's (ANA) 209th Corps' Camp Shaheen near Mazar-e Sharif. While the attack remains under investigation by Afghan authorities and Coalition forces, reports suggest that 10 heavily armed Taliban fighters wearing Afghan army uniforms infiltrated the camp and killed up to 250 Afghan soldiers. One of the worst terror attacks of the Afghan war occurred on May 31, when a truck bomb exploded in the center of Kabul's diplomatic quarter during rush hour, killing some 150 people and injuring several hundred. At the same time, there were some positive developments this quarter. As discussed in the security section of this report, President Ashraf Ghani has already begun implementing policies laid out in his forthcoming four-year reform plan for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). In addition, ANDSF force strength also increased for the second quarter in a row. The number of districts under the control of the government also appears to have stabilized at 59.7%, the same as last quarter.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 30, 2017
Accession Number
AD1139922

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  • Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

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