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Watchdog Report Questions U.S. Claim on Afghan War Progress

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05.21.2018 at 10:47pm

Watchdog Report Questions U.S. Claim on Afghan War Progress by Robert Burns – Associated Press

The Trump administration’s revamped Afghanistan strategy has made little progress against the Taliban insurgency, leaving the country a “dangerous and volatile” place nearly 17 years after the U.S. invaded, a government watchdog report said Monday.

The conclusion contrasts with assertions last fall by the American military that the Afghans, with U.S. support, had “turned the corner” and captured momentum against the Taliban, which it called fractured and desperate.

The report to Congress by inspectors general of the Pentagon, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development also cast doubt on the administration’s decision to send a new set of military advisers this year to work with Afghan forces closer to the front lines. It said this, combined with stepped-up Afghan offensives, “further raises the risk of civilian casualties, insider attacks, U.S. casualties, and other conflict-related violence.”

The U.S. has about 15,000 support troops in Afghanistan providing military assistance but not in direct combat roles.

Citing a series of deadly Taliban attacks, including last week in the western province of Farah, bordering Iran, the inspector general report released by the Pentagon said there are few signs of significant progress by Afghan forces…

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