The Pentagon’s latest report to Congress on the war in Afghanistan says despite a “resilient insurgency” and “high levels of violence,” the U.S.-supported Afghan government remains firmly in control of all major population centers and key lines of communication.
The congressionally-mandated report covers the six months between Dec. 1, 2015, and May 31, 2016, a period that has seen a resurgent Taliban challenging the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.
The report states that Afghan security forces have denied the Taliban strategic ground throughout the country, and have “increased their capabilities and demonstrated improvement in several areas.”
The report acknowledges the government forces had a “tough 2015,” but maintained a “high operational tempo” over the winter and heads into traditional spring and summer fighting season with a campaign plan to retake the initiative.
The report concludes that while the Afghan forces have a significant capability advantage over the insurgency, it suffers from a number of deficiencies, including a “reactionary strategy” and a lack of air support.
President Obama recently agreed to expand the authority for U.S. advisers to accompany Afghan troops into combat, a move that will allow U.S. commanders to order airstrikes to protect the American troops and their Afghan partners.
The report gives no hint of whether the U.S. will adjust its current plan to draw down the number of U.S. troops from 9,800 to 5,500 by 2017.
Other NATO nations and partners also have a total of 6,800 troops in Afghanistan advising and assisting the Afghans.
Those nations are looking to see what troop levels the U.S. plans for next year before making their own commitments.
Some countries would like to see a decision made at the next month’s NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland.
