Gut 16 Jahre nach Beginn des militärischen Engagements der USA in Afghanistan im Oktober 2001 hat das Wall Street Journal die Daten dieses längsten Krieges der USA grafisch aufbereitet.

Beeindruckender Lese- oder eher Anschauungsstoff über den/die Feiertage.

Afghanistan: Mission Impossible?

After 16 years in Afghanistan, many indicators are heading the wrong way

Das mit diesen Links des WSJ ist bisschen kompliziert – mal ist der Bericht frei zugänglich, mal steckt er hinter der Paywall. Vielleicht geht’s etwas besser über diesen Umweg:

Es wird allerdings zunehmend schwieriger, an diese Daten heranzukommen, wie die New York Times berichtet:

The American military command in Afghanistan has decided to keep secret key figures related to the growth and progress of local security forces, redacting the numbers at the behest of Afghan officials from the latest report by the government’s watchdog for spending.

The move clouds measures of progress for the Afghan security forces, the primary benefactor of the $120 billion that the United States has spent on reconstruction since the start of the war and the linchpin of President Trump’s new strategy in Afghanistan. (…)

Among the details being kept private in the report are the number of people in the Afghan army and police force, how many of them have been wounded or killed and the state of their equipment.

Den in der New York Times-Meldung erwähnten Bericht des Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) gibt es hier zum Nachlesen:

SIGAR Quarterly Report to the U.S. Congress – October 30, 2017

und die Kernpunkte:

– The Afghan government’s district and population control deteriorated to its lowest level since SIGAR began analyzing district-control data. As of August 2017, there were 54 districts under insurgent control (13) or influence (41), an increase of nine districts over the last six months. According to USFOR-A, 3.7 million Afghans (11.4% of the population) now live in districts under insurgent control or influence, a 700,000-person increase over the last six months.

— UNAMA reported a 52% increase in civilian casualties from pro-government (Coalition and Afghan) air operations in the first nine months of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. More than two-thirds of these victims were reportedly women and children.

— UNAMA attributed 177 or 38% of all civilian casualties from air strikes to international military forces. USFOR-A strongly disagreed with UNAMA’s assessment and methodology, offering instead that it had confirmed 43 civilian casualties caused by international air strikes during this period.

— As the U.S. troop commitment increases, American combat casualties are also rising. From January 1 through August 23, 2017, 10 U.S. military personnel were killed in Afghanistan, and 48 were wounded. This is an increase of seven personnel killed and 22 wounded in action since last quarter, and double the personnel killed in action when compared to the same periods in 2015 and 2016.

— This quarter, there was a sharp increase in insider attacks targeting both U.S. and ANDSF personnel. According to USFOR-A, from January 1 to August 15, 2017, there have been 54 reported insider attacks: 48 green-on-green and six “green-on-blue” attacks. This is an increase of 22 green-on-green and four green-on-blue attacks from last quarter.

— Both the ANA and the ANP saw a several-thousand-person decrease in force strength, negating the force growth seen earlier this year. Compared to last quarter, the ANA decreased by roughly 4,000 personnel and the ANP by roughly 5,000 personnel.

— Armed clashes in Afghanistan are at an all-time high, according to the United Nations.

— Deaths and injuries to women and children rose 13 percent compared to the same period last year, according to UNAMA.

— The U.S. has taken on a greater combat role in Afghanistan, dropping the most munitions against the Taliban and Islamic State since 2012 (751 in September) and conducting 2,400 air strikes from January to September (the most since 2014).

… und passend dazu ein Interview des britischen Guardian mit einem Taliban-Kommandeur:

‚150,000 Americans couldn’t beat us‘: Taliban fighters defiant in Afghanistan

In interviews with rank-and-file Taliban fighters in Logar and another of Afghanistan’s embattled provinces, Wardak, the Guardian found a fragmented but resilient movement, united in resistance against foreign intervention.

Referring to Barack Obama’s surge, Saeed said: “150,000 Americans couldn’t beat us.” And an extra 4,000 US soldiers, as Donald Trump will deploy, “will not change the morale of our mujahideen,” he said.

(Foto: An Afghan flag flies over an observation post, Pekha Valley, Achin District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, Oct. 19, 2017 – U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Matthew DeVirgilio)