Afghanistan has a ‘largely lawless, weak, and dysfunctional government,’ watchdog says

In its latest report to Congress, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction reports little progress in the war in Afghanistan, and faults the U.S. and Afghan governments for classifying some of the data that the office needs to provide the public with a more accurate assessment of how the 17-year-old war is going.

In noting that performance assessments of the Afghan National Army as well as the ministries of Defense and Interior were classified for the first time this quarter, John Sopko, the special IG, said the secrecy violates the spirit of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act about noting the congressional conferees expressed concern about the lack of transparency

“The report said the restriction of information in this manner undermines public confidence, hinders necessary congressional oversight, and raises legitimate questions about the efficacy of current U.S. efforts in Afghanistan,” Sopko wrote in an introduction to the report.

The metrics that are available paint a picture of continued stalemate, with little ground changing hands and little cause for optimism except for a brief ceasefire between the government and the Taliban that lasted only three days.

The report found that as of May, the Afghan government’s control or influence of the country’s population and districts saw no change from last quarter, while the number of districts and the amount of territory contested between the government and the Taliban rose slightly.

Citing United Nations statistics from June, the report noted the security situation in Afghanistan remained “highly unstable.”

Despite an overall decrease in attacks, the UN reported targeted assassinations and suicide attacks were up, and there was a record high number of civilian deaths for the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period over the last 10 years.

The report also cited a conclusion from the U.S. Department of Justice that President Ashraf Ghani’s anti-corruption campaign is faltering, and that the Afghan government is reverting to “business as usual” and simply “checking the box” when it comes to fighting corruption.

“DOJ views the situation in Afghanistan as consistent with a largely lawless, weak, and dysfunctional government with many corruption cases languishing due to the lack of political will,” Sopko wrote.

And the report says it is too soon to judge the effectiveness of the campaign to cut off the Taliban’s revenue from the drug trade.

That U.S.-led campaign, dubbed “Iron Tempest,” conducted 40 strikes against narcotics processing and storage facilities and stockpiles between January and May 2018, with no confirmed reports of civilian casualties, the report noted.

But it added a warning. “As the campaign continues, it risks fomenting discontent towards the Afghan government if strikes are perceived as targeting civilians or ineffective at disrupting the insurgents’ source of revenue.”

A year ago in announcing a shift from a “time-based approach to one based on conditions,” President Trump promised the American people his strategy would, ” work, and work effectively, and work quickly.”

The one-year anniversary of that speech is Aug. 21.

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