Allen: Surge Bought Time for Afghan Forces to Grow, Mature

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – The goal of the just-completed U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan was not to defeat the Taliban, but to provide Afghan security forces the time needed to develop, the commander of NATO forces in the country said today.

And, Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen added, it succeeded.

Allen spoke to NBC’s Lester Holt this morning and stressed the coalition campaign in Afghanistan has allowed Afghan soldiers and police to develop their capabilities.

The sacrifices made by coalition service members have given Afghan national security forces, “the wherewithal, ultimately, to create security in this country so that governance can take root, the rule of law can be embraced and economic opportunity and development can move forward,” Allen said.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta announced Sept. 21 that the drawdown of the 30,000 additional U.S. forces deployed as part of the surge was complete. From January 2010 to today, officials said, the Afghan government has added 85,000 more soldiers to the ranks and 50,000 police. Seventy-seven percent of Afghan army units are rated in the top three levels of capability, up from 52 percent in 2010, officials added. The gains for police -- a boost from 47 percent to 59 percent – are not as dramatic, they acknowledged, but they noted that the police had farther to go to reach that capability level.

But the threat of insider attacks remains in Afghanistan, Allen said, and it has his full attention.

“We’re going to work as … hard as we possibly can, around the clock, to understand the problem,” he told Holt. “And I think we've got a good grip on it now.”

Eliminating the threat will require close cooperation with Afghan government partners, he said. “See, the Taliban, in infiltrating the ranks of the [Afghan security forces], recognize that this is an opportunity for them to try to split us apart,” the general said. “We’re going to work very hard to prevent that from happening.”

Allen said he probably will recommend bringing more American troops home from Afghanistan, and that he expects to make his recommendation to U.S. leaders before the end of the year once his evaluations of the situation are complete.

“I’ll evaluate the nature of the insurgency,” he said. “I’ll evaluate the progress that we have made with the Afghan national security forces. We’ll look at the operational environment we think we’ll face in 2013. And the combination of all of those will permit me to make a recommendation.”

The general would not speculate on the size of any potential force reduction.

Panetta Announces Completion of Afghanistan Surge Drawdown

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Sept. 21, 2012 – The drawdown of U.S. surge forces in Afghanistan is complete as scheduled, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta announced here today during a news conference with New Zealand Defense Minister Dr. Jonathan Coleman.

Panetta said the return of 33,000 troops President Barack Obama committed to the war in Afghanistan in 2009 is “an important milestone.”

“As we reflect on this moment, it is an opportunity to recognize that the surge accomplished its objectives of reversing Taliban momentum on the battlefield and dramatically increased the size and capability of the Afghan national security forces,” he said.

The surge of forces allowed the United States and its coalition partners in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force to begin transitioning to Afghan security lead, he said, noting that Afghan forces soon will be responsible for leading their country’s defense in areas of every province, and for more than 75 percent of the Afghan population.

“At the same time, we have struck enormous blows against al-Qaida's leadership, consistent with our core goal of disrupting, dismantling and defeating al-Qaida and denying it a safe haven,” the secretary said.

The 68,000 U.S. service members who remain in Afghanistan combine with other nation’s forces to make ISAF around 100,000 troops strong, Panetta said. Those forces will keep working to reduce the level of violence in Afghanistan, ensure the Taliban do not regain any of their previously held areas, and strengthen the Afghan army, he added.

Panetta said Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of U.S. and ISAF forces in Afghanistan, is confident he can accomplish his campaign with the current force level.

“I have always had tremendous confidence in General Allen’s ability to say to me, ‘This is what I need in order to accomplish the mission,’” the secretary said. “Right now, he is saying the force he has in place is sufficient to accomplish that mission.”

Panetta is in New Zealand for the final stop on his third Asian tour, which also included visits to Japan and China.

ISAF Official: Campaign Remains on Track as Surge Winds Down

By Claudette Roulo and Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – The International Security Assistance Force’s campaign in Afghanistan is on track to achieve the objectives and timeline NATO set forth at its November 2010 summit, and American surge forces are on schedule to return home by Oct. 1, a senior ISAF official said today.

“The surge has effectively covered and enabled the training and fielding of the Afghan national security force, and is an amazing outcome in and of itself,” Brig. Gen. Roger Noble of the Australian army, deputy to ISAF’s operations chief, told Pentagon reporters via satellite from Kabul, Afghanistan.

“The blood, sweat and tears of many coalition soldiers, especially many brave Americans, has directly delivered the time and space for the [Afghan forces] to stand up and assume the lead for the security of Afghanistan,” he added.

Citing “relentless pressure on the enemy” by Afghan and coalition forces, Noble said insurgents have been pushed out of major population centers, allowing 76 percent of the Afghan population to live in areas of relative calm.

“In these areas, Afghans have the lead for their own security and their own lives,” he said. “And the future of Afghanistan is, day by day, increasingly in Afghan hands, as it must be and should be.”

While insider attacks are an ongoing problem, he said, ISAF is conducting a detailed analysis of every shooter involved to identify characteristics or traits that can be used to warn coalition forces of potential risks. A major challenge is that most of the shooters are either killed in the attacks or escape, the general acknowledged.

“But that doesn't stop you from still digging into their background using multiple means and actually interviewing the ones that we detain,” he said.

Insider attacks are a long-term tactic used to erode trust, Noble said, and they increase during periods of heightened tension, as they did in February following an incident in which coalition forces inadvertently mishandled Korans.

Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, the ISAF commander, raised the force protection level in light of the insider attacks, Noble said, noting that the force protection level changes quite often as specific threats rise and fall.

The attacks are a sign that the insurgency is struggling, Noble said.

“I've got a funny feeling that if they could get into pickup trucks and drive into Kandahar, they would,” he said. “But they can't do that. And the surge helped do that. There's now not just the coalition standing in the way of them, but [the Afghan security force] has about 350,000 who say, ‘You can't do that. You can't come back.’ And most of the people of Afghanistan don't want them back, either.”

Insurgents cause 81 percent of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan, the general said, through improvised explosive devices, assassinations and suicide bombings. “If your only option is to erode confidence and will through extremism and violence,” he said, “the insider threat methodology fits right into that box of things to do. … They don't have a lot of options other than to do that.”

Much work remains to be done, Noble said, and the Afghans understand that and are working to improve their vetting process and develop the infrastructure to support a professional army.

“It’s a problem that plagues them [as well],” he said. “Most years, they’ve had far more attacks than we do.”

Noble also clarified recent changes to ISAF's model for assisting Afghan forces. ISAF officials said in a written statement yesterday that media reports on the subject were inaccurate.

“General Allen has not said that we're never going to speak to an Afghan below kandak level again,” Noble said. “And that is not what's happening.” A kandak is the Afghan army’s equivalent of a battalion. Rather, he explained, Allen made adjustments due to the heightened threat around the "Innocence of Muslims" YouTube video, which has sparked protest and violence in the Muslim world.

“You would have to admit [it] has had an impact globally, … and you'd be crazy not to heighten force protection,” he said.

Allen is not preventing partnership patrols below kandak level, Noble said, but simply is reinforcing a requirement to take a considered decision about when, where and how that happens.

“We're going to take all the lessons out of [the insider attacks] and check around the whole country to make sure that there can't be a repeat, or [to] minimize the chance of repeat,” he said.

ISAF officials try to look “forward and backwards in context,” he added, trying to keep day-to-day activity in perspective and to remain on track for Afghanistan’s security forces to be responsible for security throughout their country by the end 2014, the goal set at NATO’s 2011 summit.

“Being in Afghanistan, every day throws up a different challenge, and the enemy is nothing if not innovative and committed,” Noble said. “So when we get hit with the insider threat problem or any new tactics, we'll leave no stone unturned to try and keep our people safe. We're not going to shy away from our commitment to be successful in the campaign.”

Afghanistan Surge Achieved Its Mission, Dempsey Says

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT, Sept. 18, 2012 – The 33,000-man surge of U.S. forces into Afghanistan has achieved the goal set for it, and it will end on schedule at the end of the month, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.

The end of the surge means only 68,000 American troops will remain in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said during an interview aboard a C-40 returning to Washington from Ankara, Turkey.

The intended purpose of the surge was “to buy us some time to push back on some Taliban initiatives -- particularly in the south and southwest -- and to buy us some space to grow the Afghan security forces,” Dempsey said. That objective clearly has been met, he added.

“During the surge, we grew the Afghan security forces by more than 50,000,” Dempsey said. Afghan soldiers and police now number about 340,000, and the Afghans are in the lead in providing security in most of the country. Afghan forces will grow to 352,000 soon.

Surge forces allowed to coalition to stop, and then to reverse, momentum the Taliban had established, the chairman said.

“The surge had its intended effect,” Dempsey added. “I think it was an effort that was worth the cost -- and don’t forget, it did have its cost. But I think it will prove, as we look back on it, to have set the conditions necessary for us to achieve the objectives by the end of 2014.”

Allen Anticipates Much Summer Activity in Afghanistan

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2012 – The commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan candidly told reporters today his assessment will largely set the course for operations there after the drawdown of U.S. surge forces and before the end of NATO’s combat role in 2014.

“I owe the president some real analysis on this. We’re going to need combat power; I don’t think anyone questions that,” Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, International Security Assistance Force commander, told reporters at the Pentagon.

Allen said significant events will occur in Afghanistan this summer, including the withdrawal of some troops, reposturing the battle space, inserting advisors, and moving Afghan forces increasingly into the lead.

“We've got about 30 months left on the campaign, 31 months or so,” the commander said. “The ANSF has yet to be fully recruited. It'll be done soon, but the deadline on it was 1 October.”

The general noted Afghan army and police numbers have grown over the past year from 276,000 to 340,000, and they will reach their full strength ahead of the scheduled deadline in October.

After the 23,000 remaining U.S. “surge” troops leave Afghanistan by the end of September, Allen said, he will take “a very hard look” at the state of the insurgency, the Afghan forces’ success in planning and leading combat operations, and the operational environment he anticipates in 2013.

“The aggregation of those factors will generate ultimately an assessment of what U.S. and non-U.S. ISAF combat power I'll need … to continue the process of moving the ANSF into the lead in '13 and '14 and giving them the kind of support that they need so that they'll be successful,” he said.

“We're going to make that analysis in the aftermath of the fighting season and the recovery of the 23,000 troops,” the general added.

Afghan forces augmented by International Security Assistance Force advisory teams will fill in as NATO troops thin out, the general said.

“While, in absolute terms, eventually our numbers come down, it is not our intention to cede the ground … to the Taliban,” he said.

Afghan forces will concentrate in the eastern and southwestern areas of Afghanistan to maintain security gains in the hardest-fought areas, Allen said.

At the Chicago NATO summit that ended Monday, coalition members noted the ISAF commander will regularly assess operational conditions and the capability of Afghan forces, Allen said.

“Right now we're planning every six months, so that we can adapt our plan ultimately for the final size and structure of the [Afghan army and police forces] in the post-2014 period as conditions require,” he added.

Allen said NATO’s campaign in Afghanistan has been long, difficult and costly, but he believes it is on track.

“I see it every day -- tangible evidence of progress,” he said. “And we're making a difference. We're fulfilling the Lisbon road map of transition, and the international community is standing with the noble people of Afghanistan and Afghanistan now and into the decade of transformation.”