The IG report on Afghanistan has been published……

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has published its quarterly report to Congress covering the months of January through March of 2020. The report provides updates and assessments on the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF), governance, economic and social development, and the effort to reduce the narcotics trade. In addition the report includes a section about the impact of COVID-19 in Afghanistan. The 217-page report (PDF) published on April 30, 2020 provides an independent assessment of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.

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For the Afghan conflict observer or commentator this report is valuable reading and a good resource. SIGAR is not constrained by the DOD ‘info ops’ machine as it is a Congressional mandated organization. The report provides an up-to-date assessment of the US effort in Afghanistan and is one of the more accurate unclassified publications on the current security situation.

SIGAR Quarterly Report on Afghanistan – April 2020

Please do not take my word on this….read it for yourself……https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2020-04-30qr.pdf

Pres. Trump has said on numerous occasions that he would end the US involvement in Afghanistan…..and the recently ceasefire with the Taleban has given him the opportunity to make good on the promise….this situation warranted a post…..https://lobotero.com/2020/04/14/say-goodbye-afghanistan/

Earlier this week, it was reported that President Trump was keen to speed up the pullout from Afghanistan, because of concerns that the nation could soon find itself with coronavirus problems. The US has been cutting troops all this time, and are ahead of schedule.

When the peace deal was reached, the goal was to have 8,600 troops left by July. There are fewer than 10,000 left right now, and officials say that the 8,600 goal could be reached in just a few weeks. More cuts are expected after that.

The US never set a date to be out of Afghanistan at the time of the peace deal, but with Trump wanting out there seems to be a good chance that the level is just going to keep going down for the time being.

Trump had wanted cuts before the 2020 election, and cemented that this was going to happen with the Taliban peace deal.  Even though post-deal progress has been slowed by the Afghan government’s lack of prisoner releases, the US is continuing the cuts.

(antiwar.com)

I applaud Trump and his admin if they manage to get American troops out of this quagmire…..a basic stalemate for 18 years….

As the US is preparing to get our troops out the Taleban has stepped up attacks and the Covid-19 is raising Hell in the country as well….

Clashes between Taliban fighters and Afghan forces intensified in northern Balkh and southern Logar province as warring sides fought to control checkpoints and the number of coronavirus cases in Afghanistan rises,

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-afghanistan-taliban-attacks/afghanistan-suffers-upsurge-in-fighting-and-in-coronavirus-idUKKBN22D5KV

I agree with the statement that 2 decades of war in Afghanistan…..time for us to end this thing…..

The Trump administration is edging America toward the exit in Afghanistan, nearly two decades after President George W. Bush intervened in the aftermath of 9/11. The U.S. quickly dispersed Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda and ousted the Taliban, only to spend the following years failing to build a stable, liberal democracy centered in Kabul.

America’s extended commitment of lives and resources to Afghanistan never made sense. If there is one spot on the planet in which the US has little strategic interest, it is Afghanistan. The latter is geographically distant, landlocked among Iran, China, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Two Decades of War in Afghanistan Is Enough

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”