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The U.S. military is reducing the number of UH-60 Black Hawks it plans to provide Afghan forces from 159 to just 53 a two-thirds cut in the quantity of rotary wing assets American forces had intended to provide, according to a Defense Department report.

In its December 2019 report titled Enhancing Security and Stability of Afghanistan the DoD provided few details surrounding the cut to the UH-60 program, which provides Afghan forces with troop and cargo transport and casualty evacuation.

The U.S. military also cut the number of armed fixed-wing AC-208 attack and reconnaissance aircraft it originally planned to deliver from 32 to 10. AC-208 Eliminator gunships which made its debut in Kabul in February 2019 provides ground and precision attack armed with the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, or APKWS rockets.

These reductions were made on the basis of a review of future operational requirements, the report reads.

The department continually works with its Afghan partners to re-assess operational requirements over time and adjusts as appropriate, Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell, a Pentagon spokesman, told Military Times in an emailed statement.

Similarly, the reduction in advisors reflects the assessment of U.S. commanders that the Afghan Air Force is increasingly capable of conducting operations independently, Campbell said.

The DoD provided no other details regarding the cuts to the UH-60 and AC-208 program.

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The Black Hawk program was once touted by the former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, as a game changer that would break the stalemate between Afghan and Taliban forces.

Offensive capability is what will break the stalemate in Afghanistan, Nicholson told lawmakers in 2017. The key offensive capabilities for the Afghan security forces are their special forces and their air force.

Success of the Afghan Air Force will be a key metric for Pentagon planners seeking to draw down U.S. troops in the country. The U.S. is still bearing most of the burden of air support for Afghan troops.

According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command, U.S. aircraft dropped 7,423 munitions in 2019 thats the highest number of bombs released in nearly a decade.

But critics have argued that Afghan forces are barely capable of absorbing and maintaining their existing fleet of aging Russian Mi-17 transport aircraft, among other air assets.

The Afghan military currently has 206 aircraft in its fleet with 163 of those airframes available in country, according to the DoD. Those aircraft include 45 UH-60s, 10 AC-208s, 25 A-29 Super Tucanos, 45 Mi-17s and 49 MD-530 light-attack helicopters, among other aircraft, according to the report.

Given that it takes substantial U.S. support to maintain the airframes that the Afghan Air Force has already, it doesnt seem feasible that they would be able to support that many Black Hawks without a significant contribution from NATO, Matthew Archibald, an independent researcher and consultant on South Asian issues, told Military Times in 2017 following news the U.S. planned to provide 159 Black Hawks to Afghan forces.

Moreover, analysts have criticized American plans to swap out the Mi-17 with American-made Black Hawk helicopters, arguing that the Mi-17 provides more lift and transport capability over the UH-60. The Pentagon contends new engine upgrades would allow the Black Hawk to nearly match lift and transport capabilities of the Mi-17.

Its unknown if the reduction in the number of UH-60s will hamper Afghan operations or limit lift capability for Afghan forces. The Black Hawk program was intended to replace Afghanistans aging Mi-17 fleet.

The DoD report still notes the replacement of Afghanistans Russian Mi-17s as a goal of the UH-60 program. UH-60s have been fully fielded to the AAF [Afghan Air Force] and, as pilot proficiency increases, they will increasingly and fully displace the Mi-17 fleet, the DoD report reads.

Despite the reduction in future aircraft for Afghan forces the Afghan Air Force made some positive strides in 2019.

According to the DoD report, A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft are conducting now-routine delivery of laser-guided bombs and firing APKWS rockets from AC-208s.

The report also noted that AC-208s can pair with A-29s using a laser designator aboard the AC-208 known as the MX-15 to help buddy lasetargets or aid Super Tucanos in guiding laser guided bombs.

There are about 13,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Peace negotiations between the Taliban and the U.S. are ongoing to end the 18-year long war.

The Pentagon is considering plans to reduce the U.S. footprint in Afghanistan to 8,600 troops.

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US cuts number of Black Hawks to Afghanistan by two-thirds - Military Times

WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. forces on Tuesday recovered the remains of two American service members killed in the crash of an Air Force plane in Afghanistan, the U.S. military command in Kabul said. They also retrieved what they believe is the planes flight data recorder.

They were the only two people aboard the Air Force E-11A electronic surveillance aircraft when it went down on Monday in Ghazni province, officials said. Their identities have not been publicly announced, pending notification of their relatives.

The statement from Kabul said the cause of the crash is under investigation, but there are no indications that it was downed by enemy fire.

The Taliban hold much of Ghazni province. Mondays plane crash there is not expected to derail U.S.-Taliban peace talks if the crash investigation determines, as expected, that it was not the result of hostile action.

The U.S. and the Taliban are negotiating a reduction in hostilities or a cease-fire to allow the signing of a peace agreement that could bring home an estimated 13,000 American troops and open the way to a broader post-war deal for Afghans.

A journalist in the area, Tariq Ghazniwal, said Monday that he saw the burning aircraft. He told The Associated Press that he saw two bodies and that the front of the aircraft was badly burned but its body and tail were hardly damaged.

The crash site is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from a U.S. military base, Ghazniwal said. Local Taliban were deployed to protect the crash site, he said. In its statement Tuesday, the U.S. military command in Kabul thanked local Afghans for treating the remains with respect. It said that after removing the remains, U.S. forces destroyed the remnants of the E-11A aircraft.

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Remains of 2 US troops recovered from Afghanistan crash site - The Associated Press

Afghanistans attorney general has launched an investigation into the alleged abuse of more than 500 schoolboys, following the discovery of a paedophile ring in the countrys Logar province.

Jamshid Rasooli, a spokesman for the attorney generals office, said a committee had been appointed. We are in the process of running a comprehensive, impartial investigation, he said.

No date has been set for the release of the committees findings, but the closure of schools over the winter months might cause delays.

The move follows the discovery by civil society organisation the Logar Youth, Social and Civil Institution of more than 100 videos posted to a Facebook page showing the alleged abuse of boys in six schools by teachers, headteachers and others in authority. The page has since been removed.

The Guardians report on the abuse led to a national debate on child abuse involving members of parliament and civil society, and an international outcry. Afghanistans Ministry of Education launched an urgent investigation.

The presidents spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi said the ministry is drafting a school security plan to deal with multiple issues, including child abuse, as well as reviewing how schools deal with reports of abuse.

The teachers professional code of conduct has additionally been revised and the approaches to deal with child abuse and gender-based violence have been incorporated, Seqiqqi said.

Activists Mohammad Mussa Mahmoudi and Ehsanullah Hamidi, who exposed the abuse, have left Afghanistan with their families for safety reasons.

Both had been receiving threats for months before they publicised their research and were detained by the countrys intelligence services, the National Directorate of Security, for several days before being released after publicly denying their findings.

At the time the former US ambassador John Bass tweeted that such Soviet-style tactics of coercing confessions were appalling.

The European Parliament has commended the work of Mahmoudi and all human rights defenders in Afghanistan, calling for the investigation to be conducted in cooperation with international bodies including Unama (the UN assistance mission in Afghanistan), and in full transparency.

This is one of the most dangerous moments to be a human rights activist in Afghanistan, said Omar Waraich, deputy south Asia director at Amnesty International. Not only do they operate in one of the most hazardous environments, but they face threats from both the government and armed groups.

The Afghan government has a duty to respect, protect and support activists, to investigate threats and attacks against them, and to hold suspected perpetrators accountable, he said.

Following publication of the research, UN agencies and NGOs said they would provide better protection to children in Logar and offer psychological support to survivors of abuse.

Resources have been made available to help children, and things are moving in a positive direction but much work needs to be done to address these issues across the country, said the director of one NGO working on child protection in Afghanistan, who wished to remain anonymous.

The director said one problem was the lack of female social workers in Afghanistan as many of the boys who had been abused might not feel comfortable speaking to men.

Abuse of boys in Afghanistan often referred to as bacha bazi (literally, boy for play) is widespread, but rarely talked about, as survivors often fear speaking up could lead to retribution or bring shame to their families.

Theres a global culture of shame of the abused that is misplaced and it often comes out as denial. This is not unique to the Afghanistan context, said Shaharzad Akbar, chairperson of the Independent Human Rights Commission. Theres also a terrible culture of moving people with allegations to different offices or provinces as a form of punishment.

Several families in Logar and activists linked to the Logar Youth, Social and Civil Institution have left the province for security reasons.

More here:
Investigation begins into alleged abuse of more than 500 boys in Afghanistan - The Guardian

The body of an airman from Hudson who was killed in a crash in Afghanistan began the journey home and arrived in the U.S. Thursday night.Watch the full ceremony below:Capt. Ryan Phaneuf and another pilot were killed when their plane crashed Monday in Afghanistan. Phaneuf graduated from Alvirne High School in 2007. His former Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps commander said that during Phaneuf's time at Alvirne, he demonstrated a quiet leadership style, accompanied by a sense of humor.Col. Kevin Grady added that Phaneuf was one of his first students at JROTC and helped shape the way it evolved."A lot of the things that the program does today were sort of started on his watch," Grady said. "A lot of the community service things that the program does really had their origins with Ryan."BAE Systems announced Thursday that Phaneuf was the son of two employees and was a former intern. In a statement, company officials said they grieve with his family and friends.

The body of an airman from Hudson who was killed in a crash in Afghanistan began the journey home and arrived in the U.S. Thursday night.

Watch the full ceremony below:

Capt. Ryan Phaneuf and another pilot were killed when their plane crashed Monday in Afghanistan.

Phaneuf graduated from Alvirne High School in 2007. His former Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps commander said that during Phaneuf's time at Alvirne, he demonstrated a quiet leadership style, accompanied by a sense of humor.

Col. Kevin Grady added that Phaneuf was one of his first students at JROTC and helped shape the way it evolved.

"A lot of the things that the program does today were sort of started on his watch," Grady said. "A lot of the community service things that the program does really had their origins with Ryan."

BAE Systems announced Thursday that Phaneuf was the son of two employees and was a former intern. In a statement, company officials said they grieve with his family and friends.

See the article here:
Body of Hudson airman killed in crash in Afghanistan returned to U.S. - WMUR Manchester

Amblin Television has acquired the rights to the Washington Posts At War With the Truth report, which focused on the Afghanistan Papers, the studio announced Thursday.

Amblin and Jigsaw Productions will work together to created both an explosive limited documentary series and limited scripted series, according to a release.

Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney will executive produce along with Jigsaw Productions Stacey Offman and Richard Perello and Amblins co-presidents Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey.

Also Read: Steven Spielberg and Alex Gibney's Docuseries 'Why We Hate' Gets Premiere Date From Discovery (Exclusive)

The companies will work closely with the Post and have access to files, recordings, research and materials obtained in the investigation. Theyll also work with the investigative journalist, Craig Whitlock, who uncovered the story. Discussions with distributors are now underway.

The Posts six-part report came after a three-year investigation and a fight between the publication and the American government over having documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. It tells the unknown history of the war in Afghanistan, showcasing the admissions of failure from leaders who were expressing confidence and pride in public.

Also Read: Washington Post Runs Full-Page Editorial Calling on Mitch McConnell to 'Do Something' on Gun Violence

In a Thursday statement, Amblins Frank and Falvey said, The opportunity to definitively tell this extraordinary and important story is an exciting one. Thanks to the efforts of Craig Whitlock and all the journalists at The Washington Post, the public finally learned the truth about what has been going on behind closed doors in Washington as it relates to the war in Afghanistan which has spanned almost two decades, three administrations and cost trillions of taxpayer dollars.

The Posts executive editor Marty Baron added, When Post reporter Craig Whitlock became aware that senior U.S. officials had given confidential interviews about the war in Afghanistan, we knew it was imperative to examine them. When the government sought to maintain secrecy, The Post felt it had to challenge a policy of concealment. The public had a right to a full accounting of why this war has been the nations longest, with such a heavy cost in lives, injuries and money. Central to journalisms role in a democracy is holding government accountable and giving citizens the information they need and deserve to know. In documenting how the public was misled about the war, we believe this work was faithful to that mission.

Washington Post senior associate editor Lally Weymouth talks to TheWrap founder Sharon Waxman

Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap

Former defense and security adviser Morton Halperin talks to Sharon Waxman

Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap

Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron

Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap

Lally Weymouth

Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap

Lally Weymouth talks to Sharon Waxman

Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap

Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward

Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap

Sally Quinn, Washington Post journalist and widow of the late Post top editor Ben Bradlee

Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap

Morton Halperin

Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap

MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell

Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap

Renowned figures from the newspapers history talk about the legacy of the Pentagon Papers

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Amblin Television Acquires Rights to Washington Posts Report on the Afghanistan Papers - TheWrap