Few Metrics Support Future Success for Afghan Forces

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials voicing optimism that Afghan security forces would be able to prevent insurgent Taliban forces from sweeping across Afghanistan may be basing their assessment more on hope than on any measurable data. 38 #Taliban terrorists were killed and 15 others including one of their commanders named “Qayum” son of “Sofi” were wounded in #airstrikes conducted by #AAF at the outskirts of #Takhar provincial center , afternoon today.Also,2 vehicles,1 machine gun & their amos were destroyed 16 #Taliban terrorists were killed and 4 others were wounded in an operation conducted by #ANDSF in Pachir W Agam district of #Nangarhar province, last night. Also, 1 machine gun and some amount of their ammunition were seized by #ANA

A “lessons learned” report released Wednesday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a government watchdog, warns that after almost 20 years and more than $88 billion in spending, the U.S. military has few tangible indicators of how Afghan security forces will do on their own. “The question of how to accurately project how the ANDSF (Afghan National Defense and Security Forces) would perform against an adversary in the absence of direct U.S. combat enabler support remains difficult to answer,” the report said. “The systems designed to measure that capability have been criticized for being inconsistent,” the report added. “Rating systems designed to capture ANDSF operational effectiveness have shifted over time, reflecting persistent questions about what data mattered, how to balance quantitative and qualitative information, and, more fundamentally, how exactly to measure capability in the first place.”