№122: Afghan National Army: Improved but Still in Need of Massive Support
№122: Afghan National Army: Improved but Still in Need of Massive Support

Author(s): Beata Górka-Winter
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Security and defense, Military policy
Published by: PISM Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych
Keywords: Afghanistan; security;
Summary/Abstract: After more than a decade of international military assistance in Afghanistan, the newly created AfghanNational Security Forces are still facing several daunting challenges, including the need to stabilise astill volatile security situation and sustain a sufficient level of manpower. The latter, in particular, mayprove to be extremely difficult, as statistics show that the ranks of the Afghan National Army (ANA)are shrinking dramatically. On the one hand, many independent assessments show that the ANA hasreached a high level of maturity and efficiency in combating the insurgency (as demonstrated by theANA recently when parliament was attacked by the Taliban). Moreover, the armed forces also receivea level of social support unprecedented in the modern history of Afghanistan. On the other hand, theunstable political situation, a potential loss of financial support from donors, and the re-emergence ofmilitias that, under the command of warlords, act as parallel security forces in Afghanistan, may resultin the progressive disintegration of the ANA, depriving it of the strong mandate given to it by theAfghan population.

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