Feed: Obama’s backtracking from “pie in the sky” Afghan pullout - AggScore: 13.0

Obama’s backtracking from “pie in the sky” Afghan pullout

---

caption id alignalignleft width210 captionMilitary officers are briefed on battle plans in Afghanistan. Photo DoD img srchttpcdn2b.examiner.comsitesdefaultfilesstyleslargehashdbe8dbe8afe0d312844812368eaaab56d98e.jpg alt width210 height141 captionWhen announcinghis surge plan to send30,000 moretroops into Afghanistan more than a year ago, President BarackObama promised to begin withdrawal no later than July 2011. However, slowly but surely Obamaadministration officials arebacktracking from that date.For example, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced regarding Afghanistan, were going to get in there quickly and deliver a punch quickly.Many believe Gibbs intentionallyleft reporters and the public with the impression that Obama was taking the 2011 timeline seriously in terms of pushing a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Similarly, Vice President Joe Biden recently explained that in July of 2011, youre going to see a whole lot of people moving out of Afghanistan. Bidens promise was seconded by Obamas thenChief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel.Those in the know will acknowledge thata withdrawal of U.S troops is contingent upon the capability of Afghanistans military and its Afghan National Police ANP to successfully takeover the duties now performed by U.S. and NATO forces.Developing capable Afghan National Army forces is a key element of the U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organizationled coalition effort to counter the insurgency and create sustainable security in Afghanistan. Since 2002, the United States, with assistance from NATO and other coalition nations, has worked to develop the ANA. The Department of Defense leads U.S. efforts to train and equip the ANA.U.S. agencies have allocated about 20 billion in support of the ANA since 2002 and have requested 7.5 billion more for fiscal year 2011.The U.S. Congress requested the Government Accountability Office examine the extent of progress made and challenges faced in expanding the size of the ANA, and the extent of progress made and challenges faced in developing ANA capability.Congress wished the GAOto estimate future funding needed to sustain and grow the ANA.GAO analystsreviewed DOD and NATO documents and met with officials in Washington, D.C. Tampa, FL Brussels, Belgium and Kabul, Afghanistan.Between January 2010 and July 2010, the ANA grew from 104,000 to 134,000 personnel, reaching the interim growth goal set by the Afghan government and international community 3 months ahead of schedule.Officials cited increased recruitment of new soldiers and higher training capacity as factors that enabled the growth. The ANA has also generally achieved its goal of drawing proportionally from Afghanistans major ethnic groups, with some key exceptions. However, the ANA faces challenges, including high rates of attrition the loss of soldiers from the force before they complete their contracts and absenteeism.In particular, high attrition could impact the ANAs ability to meet its end size goal of 171,600 by October 2011. The Afghan government and international community have set an objective of having the Afghan army and police lead and conduct security operations in all Afghan provinces by the end of 2014. As of September 2010, no ANA unit was assessed as capable of conducting its mission independent of coalition assistance. About twothirds were assessed as effective with limited coalition support.Efforts to develop ANA capability have been challenged by difficulties in staffing leadership positions and a shortage of coalition trainers, including a shortfall of approximately 18 percent 275 of 1,495 of the personnel needed to provide instruction at ANA training facilities. Neither DOD nor NATO has completed an analysis of ANA sustainment costs. Such analysis is important given that, as of January 2010, the International Monetary Fund projected that it will take until at least 2023 for the Afghan government to raise sufficient revenues to cover its operating expenses, including those related to the army highlighting Afghanistans continued dependence on external sources of funding.In addition, DOD and NATO studies indicate that growth of the ANA beyond the current end goal of 171,600 may be neededpotentially up to a force size of 240,000 personnel. Any such growth will necessitate additional donor assistance. GAO recommended that Secretary of Defense Robert Gibbs, in conjunction with international partners, take steps to eliminate the shortage of trainers clarify what ANA growth beyond the current end goal, if any, is needed and develop estimates of the future funding needed to further grow and sustain the ANA.