Pentagon Chronicles Progress in Afghanistan

Several significant milestones in mid-2014 set the stage for future security and stability in Afghanistan and an enduring US-Afghan partnership, announced the Pentagon in a report to Congress. This included the Afghan presidential election and peaceful transition of power to Ashraf Ghani in September and the subsequent signing of the US-Afghan bilateral security agreement and NATO-Afghan status-of-forces agreement for the post-2014 Resolute Support mission, states the report. The Pentagon issued the document on Oct. 31. It covers the period from April 1, 2014 to Sept. 30, 2014. Additionally, “Afghan National Security Forces have increasingly demonstrated their ability to plan and conduct independent and combined operations that employ multiple capabilities, to disrupt the insurgency, and to protect the populace,” states the report. Taliban insurgents were “unable to hold any significant terrain and were consistently overmatched when engaged by ANSF,” which sometimes had coalition air and intelligence support, states the document. Still, “significant work remains after 2014 to develop the capacity of the [Afghans] to sustain the ANSF and provide resources toward closing ANSF capability gaps,” it notes. (DOD Afghan report; caution, large-sized file.)