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WASHINGTON President Trumps national security adviser, Robert C. OBrien, added to the confusion around Mr. Trumps plans for Afghanistan on Friday, reiterating an assertion that the United States will draw down to about 2,500 troops by early next year and indirectly rebuking the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman for openly questioning that timeline.

Speaking from the White House during an online session hosted by the Aspen Strategy Group, Mr. OBrien repeated a statement he made during a public talk last Wednesday, saying that Mr. Trump had directed that the United States, which now has about 4,500 troops in the country, would be down to 2500 troops in the early part of next year.

It has been suggested by some that thats speculation. I can guarantee you, thats the plan of the president the United States, Mr. OBrien said. That was a clear reference to comments by the chairman, Gen. Mark A. Milley, in an interview on Sunday with NPR, that Mr. OBriens previous troop-level projection amounted to speculation and not the rigorous analysis of conditions on the ground that the general would apply.

On Friday, Mr. OBrien insisted that he was reflecting Mr. Trumps true intentions.

Its not speculation, he repeated. Thats the order of the commander in chief, he said, adding that the Defense Department and its secretary, Mark T. Esper, are fully on board and implementing them.

The United States struck an agreement with the Taliban in February that committed to a full troop withdrawal by next May, but tied to conditions that the Afghan insurgent group has yet to meet.

Mr. OBrien also sought to explain away a tweet by Mr. Trump, posted hours after his remarks last week, in which the president appeared to offer a wholly different, and much faster, timeline for an American exit. We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas! Mr. Trump wrote.

I think what the president was doing is, he was expressing the same desire I think every president since the Revolutionary War has said, whenever were at war, whether it was the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, or World War II all presidents, all G.I.s want the troops home by Christmas, he said.

Thered be nothing greater than having our troops home by Christmas, he continued, adding that the United States was on a path right now that looks like about 4,500.

Mr. OBrien also sought to downplay concern that Mr. Trump would seek to exit the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in a second term, a day after Mr. Trump, speaking on a podcast hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, would not commit to remaining in the alliance if re-elected.

Asked about claims by Mr. Trumps previous national security adviser, John R. Bolton, that the president has threatened to exit the alliance entirely, Mr. OBrien said, Ive never heard him talk about getting out of NATO.

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Trump Aide Insists U.S. Will Reduce Forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 Troops - The New York Times

A Memorandum of Understanding between Greece and Afghanistan was signed yesterday by Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis and Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Meerwais Nab.

The signing ceremony of the Memorandum in Greeces capital was followed by a bilateral meeting, during which the close historical and cultural ties connecting the two countries were confirmed, given the rich Greek cultural heritage in Afghanistan dating back to the time of Alexander the Great over 2,000 years ago.

Varvitsiotis stressed the importance of promoting a positive agenda of cooperation between the two countries, which, however, presupposes addressing issues of mutual distrust, such as illegal immigration.

He raised, in particular, the issue of facilitating voluntary returns for Afghan citizens, who are not entitled to international protection, and welcomed Nabs positive reception of the Greek proposal to conclude a relevant bilateral Memorandum of Cooperation.

He stressed that the issue of returns is a key part of the new Immigration and Asylum Pact presented by the European Commission.

For his part, Nab expressed the desire to cooperate with Greece on the issue of voluntary returns through the Afghan Embassy in Athens, as well as the hope for a Greek Embassy in Kabul, noting that the Afghanistan side can assist about.

After the end of the meeting, Varvitsiotis made the following statement:

Today I had the opportunity to meet and sign a political agreement with the Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister. Mr Nab and I had the opportunity to discuss issues of concern to both countries, and in particular the complex issue of immigration, he said, adding that Greece has always been committed to supporting internal security and, of course, peace in the region of Afghanistan.

That is why it has been participating in the international effort to address the Taliban threat for many years. In this context, Greece has welcomed and is hosting over 40,000 Afghans in our country, the Deputy Foreign Minister continued.

Many of them have refugee status, some of them do not have refugee status and are considered illegal immigrants. That is why we have already started discussions on the immigration agreement with Afghanistan, to send a message to the people, who risk their lives crossing the border illegally to reach our country, that, even if they get here, eventually their path will not be successful, he concluded.

Varvitsiotis also said on Twitter that Greece and Afghanistan are deepening political relations.

?? ??? ?????? ????????? ?????????? Meerwais Nab ?????????? ?????? ???????? ?????????? ????????? ?????????????. ??????? ??? ????? ????????? ???? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ???????? ??????????? ??? ??? ?????? ????????????? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ????????? ??? ???????. ????? pic.twitter.com/4hVvjQlRa3

— Varvitsiotis Miltiadis (@MVarvitsiotis) October 21, 2020

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Greece And Afghanistan Sign Memorandum On Returning Illegal Immigrants - GreekCityTimes.com

After nearly two decades of war, the U.S. government continues to essentially flush billions in taxpayer dollars down the toilet.

The U.S. lost approximately $19 billion to waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2018, according to the top government watchdog for the reconstruction effort there.

According to the new audit from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) published last week, the U.S. government lost nearly $3 billion in 323 separate instances over the last two years alone.

Waste, defined as the act of using or expending resources carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose," accounted for 90 percent of those 323 instances during that time period, according to the SIGAR report.

Fraud namely bribery, theft, and other forms of corruption accounted for about approximately 9 percent of the remaining incidents, while abuse of power by officials accounted forapproximately 1 percent.

The U.S. has appropriated more than $134 billion for Afghanistan reconstruction since 2002, approximately 47 percent of which SIGAR has reviewed through audits over the years, according to the report.

Unfortunately, it's unclear what specific impact this scale of waste, fraud, and abuse. Indeed, the Pentagon for more than a year has either over-classified or outright ceased to gather critical data on whether the United States is actually succeeding or failing to win the war in Afghanistan.

But according toSIGAR, this bodes poorly for the ongoing Afghan peace process:the report concluded that the waste, fraud, and abuse detailed in its audit doesn't just represent a waste of taxpayer dollars, but a potential threat to the long-term prospect of stability in the country.

"Endemic corruption, widespread insecurity, and lack of accountability over on-budget assistance continue to make any investments made in Afghanistan vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse and may threaten the peace process as well as the perceived legitimacy and effectiveness of the Afghan government," according to the report.

In a statement to Task & Purpose, the Defense Department blasted the SIGAR report as replete with "factual errors and misrepresentations."

"The report cites instances of 'waste, fraud and abuse' that pertain mainly to projects completed years ago - some more than a decade ago - that SIGAR investigated previously," DoD spokesman Maj.Rob Lodewick said in a statement. "DoD and several other U.S. government departments and agencies are already on record as having challenged these previous reports as inaccurate and misleading. We continue to voice our well-informed disagreement."

"Furthermore, DoD disagrees with some of the reports conclusions, which are subjective, based on previous contentious SIGAR work, and appear to make little distinction between reconstruction efforts that were mismanaged and those efforts that have, to date, simply fallen short of strategic goals," he continued. "Although some projects have yet to accomplish their intended outcomes, the net effect of the overall effort in Afghanistan has clearly improved Afghan society over the last 18 years, despite an ongoing violent insurgency."

Related: How the Afghanistan withdrawal went from home by Christmas to standby to standby

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The US lost $19 billion in Afghanistan to waste, fraud, and abuse over a decade - Task & Purpose

Internally displaced people flee from Nadali district to Lashkar Gah during ongoing clashes between Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces in Helmand province on October 14, 2020. AFP

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, calls for urgent protection and assistance for tens of thousands of civilians displaced by recent escalation of violence in Afghanistans southern Helmand Province.

Men, women and children have been forced from their homes in Nahr-e-Saraj, Nawa-e-Barakzaiy, Nad-e-Ali/Marja and Lashkargah districts by a fresh wave of fighting between the Taliban and government forces. Many ran for their lives with no belongings. Although the exact extent of new displacement is unknown, local authorities estimate more than 5,000 families (nearly 40,000 people) have fled in the last 10 days since clashes erupted.

This latest eruption of violence and displacement reflects the multitude of challenges Afghanistan is facing today. said Caroline Van Buren, UNHCR Representative for Afghanistan. More support is urgently needed as the country grapples with insecurity in some parts, on top of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

UNHCR, as part of the government-led joint humanitarian response, is helping affected people in Helmand. Initial assessments have identified more than 5,000 displaced people in need of immediate assistance. The number is expected to rise as teams continue assessments.

In the last few days, UNHCR has dispatched emergency shelter kits and essential household items such as blankets, plastic sheets, water buckets, cooking utensils and hygiene kits. In addition, UNHCR is providing cash assistance for particularly vulnerable individuals, such as the elderly, children and women at risk, people with disabilities, and those with serious medical conditions. Our initial assessment found that many displaced families urgently need food, water, shelter, hygiene kits, latrines, and cash for rent and other purposes.

Humanitarians are working with limited access to the majority of displaced civilians, said UNHCRs Van Buren. Disruptions in telecommunications, the threat of improvised explosive devices and the continued closure of the highway between Kandahar and Helmand following the destruction of several bridges are adding to the challenges.

Mobile health teams are delivering services to displaced people in Lashkar Gah the capital of Helmand Province, where the majority of displaced Afghans are currently staying. Living conditions are poor with many living in open spaces, in rented accommodation shared with several families, or in shops in the vegetable market.

The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) has allocated 20 million AFN (US$260,000) and is distributing food packages to some 200 families.

More than 220,000 Afghans have been newly displaced by conflict so far this year while another 456,000 people were forced to flee their homes in 2019, adding to an overall figure of around 4.1 million people displaced in Afghanistan since 2012. Conflict and poverty have prevented most of them from returning to their areas of origin.

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UNHCR - UNHCR calls for protection, support for civilians affected by violence in southern Afghanistan - UNHCR

The Sehatmandi Project provides quality health, nutrition, and family planning services across Afghanistan. The delivery of health services is contracted out to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and uses a pay-for-performance approach to incentivize a focus on health outcomes, particularly for women and children. The project is helping to improve basic health and essential hospital services, strengthen the overall performance of the health sector, and boost demand for key health services.

Challenge

Afghanistans health system faces a critical shortage of key ingredients qualified healthcare workers, especially female healthcare workers to ensure that women can seek health services; safe and equipped facilities, particularly in areas that are experiencing active conflicts; and supplies of medicines, equipment and vaccines. Insecurity, gender imbalances, and lack of government revenue severely limit the availability of even the most basic healthcare for most Afghans and the situation has become particularly acute during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Approach

The Sehatmandi program builds on the innovative approach of contracting out the provision of virtually all basic and essential health services to service provider non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The project takes a pay-for-performance (P4P) approach that directly links the payment of service providers to their performance on the delivery of 11 key health-related services such as immunization, skilled birth attendance, family planning visits, and growth monitoring of infants and children. The performance is verified by an independent third-party monitor before payment is made. The expected outcomes are clearly spelled out and quantified and customized for each province of the country through a contract between the MOH and the NGO with set terms for service standards.

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While cooking in the kitchen, I stopped breathing and my vision went dark. When I woke up, I was on a hospital bed. Every time I come here, doctors are so respectful and care about us. My neighbors and I are so pleased. It is five days that I am here in hospital and I have had a very good experience. I appreciate the hospitals management system. There are so many patients, but the doctors are always doing their best.

Gulab Zarin, Kama district, Nangarhar province

The project focuses on improving the value-for-money by enhancing accountability and transparency in the health sector and is a cutting-edge model for service delivery in fragile and conflict-affected settings.

The project has effectively served as a platform to channel the resources of key development partners in a common results framework to finance basic and priority health services across the country with minimal management cost, including in highly insecure and conflict-affected areas which are difficult to serve.

Results

The program made notable achievements despite the rising insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 2002, international development aid, including support from the World Bank and the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, has been a critical part of Afghanistan's development.

Overall health outcomes in Afghanistan have improved markedly since the first decade of the 2000s:

Bank Group Contribution

The Sehatmandi Project is supported by grant of $140 million from the International Development Association (IDA), a $425 million grant from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). The ARTF is a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank on behalf of 34 donor partners which have contributed almost $12 billion. The ARTF is a vital mechanism to coordinate international aid. Through the ARTF, donors align and coordinate their support around key development programs, reducing aid fragmentation.

Partners

The Afghanistan Sehatmandi Project is implemented by the Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan in close cooperation with the donors to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), WHO and UN agencies. Afghan and international NGOs support the project as service providers.

The Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) supports the project with a $35 million grant. The GFF supports low- and lower-middle-income countries to accelerate progress on reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition, and strengthen financing and health systems for universal health coverage (UHC).

Moving Forward

Building on the programs success and to further enhance health service delivery, additional financing for the project is under preparation to make further investments in health facilities and the capacity of the healthcare system and healthcare providers and expand the menu of health services provided.

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Delivering Strong and Sustained Health Gains in Afghanistan: The Sehatmandi Project - Afghanistan - ReliefWeb