Senate Republicans Call on Biden Administration to Designate Taliban as Terrorist Group
A group of Senate Republicans sent a letter to President Joe Biden’s administration urging them to designate the Taliban as a terrorist organization.
Afghan Security Forces
Pentagon Reviewing Afghanistan War Strategy but No Big Changes Expected
Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the four-star general with responsibility over the Middle East and South Asia, told reporters on Thursday that the administration is reviewing the Afghanistan war strategy, but that no big changes are expected.
Watchdog: U.S. Does Not Know How Many Afghan Troops ‘Actually Exist’
Washington and Kabul are clueless as to how many Afghan security troops “actually exist,” are available for duty, and whether they are truly capable of defending their own country, a top government watchdog tells Congress.
Top Watchdog Stresses: Pentagon Has Lost Ability to Monitor Afghan Military
The Pentagon has “lost much of its ability” to monitor the effectiveness and capability of the Afghan security forces as the Taliban and other insurgents have stepped up their assaults, stresses the top watchdog for U.S.-funded nation-building projects in Afghanistan.
Report: Afghan Security Cleared Taliban Suicide Bomber Who Killed Six U.S. Troops
The Taliban member who rammed an explosives-laden motorcycle into a joint NATO-Afghan patrol near Bagram Air Base in southern Afghanistan Monday, killing six U.S. troops, passed through Afghan security before carrying out the suicide bomb attack, CNN reports.
Russia Trades Information with Afghan Taliban to Fight Islamic State
Russia is cooperating with the Taliban to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Afghanistan, Interfax news agency reports, citing a senior Russian diplomat.
70 U.S.-Trained Afghan Troops Surrender Weapons to Taliban
At least 70 members of the U.S.-trained and equipped Afghan security forces handed over their weapons and equipment, purchased with American taxpayer funds, and surrendered to the Taliban in the restive district of Sangin in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province along the Pakistan border.
Watchdog: U.S. Has No Way to Evaluate Effectiveness of Afghan Forces
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pentagon lacks a reliable system to gauge whether the Afghan security troops are an effective fighting force capable of holding its ground against the enemies of Afghanistan, such as the Taliban and the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), reports a congressionally appointed watchdog agency.
UN: ISIS Active in Nearly Three-Quarters of Afghanistan
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is expanding its presence in Afghanistan, recruiting followers in nearly 75 percent of the country’s 34 provinces, according to a United Nations report.
Taliban Liberates 350-Plus Inmates in Attack on Afghan Jail
Taliban terrorists attacked a jail in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni, freeing more than 350 inmates and killing four policemen.
Record 4,100 Afghan Forces Killed as Taliban Attacks Escalate
The Afghan security forces suffered a record number of casualties in the first six months after the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan ended last December.
NYT: Afghans Forming Militias, Asking Assistance From Warlords to Fight Taliban
In an effort that is being seen as undermining U.S. officials’ assurances that security forces were holding their own, Afghanistan is forming local militias and urging old warlords to provide military assistance in response to a fierce Taliban offensive in the northern part of the country, The New York Times reports.
Watchdog on Afghan Security Force: We Don’t Know Who is Showing Up for Work
WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. and Afghan governments lack accurate data on the Afghan security forces’s manpower, capability, and payroll, making it difficult to assess Afghanistan’s ability to fight the Taliban and prevent other terrorist groups from using the country to stage new attacks, according to a specially-appointed congressional watchdog agency.
