Archive for the ‘Afghanistan’ Category

Top US general: ‘Shortfall of a few thousand’ troops in Afghanistan – CNN

He said troops were needed for the NATO-led train, advise and assist mission in Afghanistan. He said that the resources for the counterterrorism mission there, in contrast, are "adequate."

Nicholson, testifying before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Afghanistan, said the shortfall could be made up by US or coalition troops. He added that Secretary of Defense James Mattis would address the issue during this month's meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

Currently there are a total of 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan. There are also 6,000 troops from NATO and other allied countries. President Barack Obama oversaw the withdrawal of some 1,400 US troops during his last months in office.

Nicholson said he hoped the additional reinforcements would allow the coalition to advise Afghan troops at the brigade level, bringing them closer to the intense fight between the government and Taliban insurgency.

The general also said additional resources were needed to develop the Afghan air force and grow Afghan special forces.

Nicholson said the US was seeking to establish an "enduring counterterrorism platform" in Afghanistan, noting that of the 98 US-designated terrorist groups globally, 20 operate in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

"This is the highest concentration of terrorist groups anywhere in the world," he told the Senate.

The general also said that he remains "concerned about the influence of certain external actors -- particularly Pakistan, Russia, and Iran -- who continue to legitimize and support the Taliban and undermine the Afghan governments' efforts to create a stable Afghanistan."

"Iran is directly supporting the Taliban in Western Afghanistan," Nicholson said, adding that Russia was offering political support to the Taliban in order "to undermine the United States and NATO."

A recent report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found that the Afghan government controlled just under 60% of territory, with the remainder either being contested by the Taliban or under the control of the insurgency.

Asked by Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, whether the US was winning or losing in Afghanistan, Nicholson said, "I believe we are in a stalemate."

President Donald Trump, who spoke to President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan Thursday, told reporters: "Afghanistan -- I would say that that's a tough situation, but we'll do something about it."

"We'll be giving you some pretty good information soon," he told reporters during a brief spray at the White House.

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Top US general: 'Shortfall of a few thousand' troops in Afghanistan - CNN

Mattis heading to Europe while mulling changes in Afghanistan, anti-Islamic State fight – Stars and Stripes


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Mattis heading to Europe while mulling changes in Afghanistan, anti-Islamic State fight
Stars and Stripes
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will depart Tuesday on his first trip to Europe as Pentagon chief, meeting with defense ministers from numerous countries as Washington mulls deploying thousands more troops to Afghanistan and altering its strategy to more ...

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Mattis heading to Europe while mulling changes in Afghanistan, anti-Islamic State fight - Stars and Stripes

Top US general says Afghanistan war at ‘stalemate,’ more …

In a stark admission, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan told Capitol Hill lawmakers Thursday that after 15 years of war, the conflict remains a stalemate and said thousands more troops are needed to train Afghan forces.

Army Gen. John W. Nicholson, Jr. offered lawmakers a grim assessment about the prospects for truly ending a war that so far has cost more than 2,000 American lives -- and billions of dollars -- since 2001. The challenge, he testified, is made even tougher by Russia and Irans aid to the Taliban, amid signs the militant group is making territorial gains.

I believe we're in a stalemate, Nicholson told Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., when asked directly if the U.S. and its allies are winning or losing.

He said he has adequate resources for counterterrorism, but is facing a shortfall of a few-thousand troops to train Afghan forces.

He made clear those additional troops could come from allies as well as the U.S., and said the subject would be on the table when Defense Secretary Jim Mattis attends a NATO defense meeting next week in Brussels.

At the Senate hearing Thursday, Nicholson also told lawmakers a U.S. special forces soldier had been severely wounded that morning in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. Twelve Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October.

In further evidence that the war is far from over despite then-President Barack Obama declaring an end to the combat mission in 2014, the United Nations reported Monday a record number of Afghan civilians were killed in Afghanistan last year.The report said nearly 3,500 were killed and nearly 8,000 wounded. A government watchdog group also says the Afghan government only controls 60 percent of the country right now.

Five Americans continue to be held hostage in Afghanistan, according to Nicholson.

At the White House, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said President Trump would heed the advice of his generals and defense secretary, but said no decision was imminent.

Restrictions on troop levels in the past administration forced the U.S. military to rely on expensive contractors.

"We have roughly a two-to-one ratio of contractors to soldiers, said Nicholson.Currently, there are 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan, which would put the number of civilian contractors at nearly 17,000. Nicholson said soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division based at Ft. Riley, Kansas, were forced to stay home when their aviation brigade deployed to Afghanistan to adhere to troops limits set under the Obama administration.

This contract for maintenance runs into the tens of millions of dollars, and then the soldiers who are trained to be mechanics are sitting back at Fort Riley not having the opportunity to do their job. So this has a direct impact on army readiness and it also costs us more money, Nicholson said.

Some say Afghanistan has become the forgotten war, despite more American troops on the ground there than in Iraq engaged in the ISIS fight. The subject rarely surfaced on the campaign trail.President Trump mentioned Afghanistan just once to express gratitude for Americans serving there, in prepared remarks while visiting U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., earlier this week.

While Trump has given his generals 30 days to come up with a draft plan to ramp up the ISIS fight, the same request was not made for Afghanistan, where Nicholson says the Russians and the Iranians are now actively supporting the Taliban.

When we look at Russia and Iranian actions in Afghanistan, I believe that, in part, theyre [trying] to undermine the United States and NATO, he said.

Russia's support for the Taliban began last year, according to Nicholson.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said, I think we better let President Trump know that.

Yes sir, Nicholson replied.

Nicholson said Iran is actively recruiting Afghans to fight in Syria, a situation that could blow back on Kabul when those fighters return home.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., questioned the resources spent on the war so far, a number that has reached $117 billion.

"Adjusted for inflation the U.S. has spent more on Afghanistan's reconstruction than it did on the Marshall Plan to rebuild Western Europe after World War II. Reconstructing Afghanistan has now become the largest expenditure to rebuild a single country in our nation's history, he said.

There are fewer American troops on the ground in Afghanistan than any time since 2002. Following the reduction of 1,400 troops at the end of the year, the number stands at a mere 10 percent of the 100,000 at the height of the Obama administrations surge in 2011.

Today, there are nearly 6,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq.

While some questioned the high cost of Americas longest war, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., asked Nicholson, If the United States just said we've had enough, you know, 15 years is long enough, let's just roll up our operation there and come home, do think that we would face the risk of an attack planned and directed from Afghanistan?

Yes, senator, definitely, Nicholson replied.

Lucas Tomlinson is the Pentagon and State Department producer for Fox News Channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @LucasFoxNews

Jennifer Griffin currently serves as a national security correspondent for FOX News Channel . She joined FNC in October 1999 as a Jerusalem-based correspondent. You can follow her on Twitter at @JenGriffinFNC.

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Afghanistan: Air strikes thwart major attack plan, kill 60 Taliban insurgents – Hindustan Times

At least 60 Taliban insurgents have been killed in a series of air strikes in southern Afghanistans Helmand province.

The insurgents were planning to launch a major attack on Sanging district.

The provincial government officials, including the provincial governor, deputy provincial intelligence chief, and the commander of 215th Corps of the Afghan Army briefed the media about the latest development during a press conference in Helmand on Saturday.

Khaama Press quoted the officials, as saying that hundreds of fighters were called from the other provinces and districts by the Taliban after one their largest attack on Sangin was repulsed nearly two weeks ago.

According to the officials, the security forces was keeping a watch on the Taliban insurgents and thwarted their offensive on Sangin by killing nearly 60 of them.

So far, there has been no comment by the anti-government armed militant groups about the report.

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Afghanistan: Air strikes thwart major attack plan, kill 60 Taliban insurgents - Hindustan Times

Militants Kill 6 Red Cross Workers in Afghanistan – New York Times


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Militants Kill 6 Red Cross Workers in Afghanistan
New York Times
Credit Reuters. KABUL, Afghanistan Six employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross were killed and two others were missing on Wednesday after an attack in northern Afghanistan that officials attributed to local affiliates of the ...
6 Red Cross workers killed in AfghanistanCNN
Afghanistan: ICRC halts operations after workers killedAljazeera.com
Red Cross Says 6 Of Its Workers Were Killed By Unknown Assailants In AfghanistanNPR
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Militants Kill 6 Red Cross Workers in Afghanistan - New York Times