Afghanistan - why Afghan army collapsed.

It has been more than a year since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) forces routed the then Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANSDF) including the 350,000 strong Afghan National Army (ANA) in their lightening advance towards Kabul, while sizeable American and NATO forces were still deployed in Afghanistan.

The bulwark against the rag-tag Taliban forces, ANA, melted under the combined effects of Taliban (IEA) tenacity and momentum, lack of resolution and commitment to fight, ANSF's overall low morale due to corruption, and IEA's successful tasleem strategy, emphasising and offering peaceful surrender and repatriation. A February 2023 report by SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction), a US government entity, under directions from 'The House committees on Oversight and Reform, and Armed Services' investigates the disaster. The scope of investigation encompasses: a) ascertaining factors leading to ANDSF collapse; b) identifying any underlying factors during training, responsible for underdevelopment of important ANDSF capabilities, readiness, and its under-performance; and c) accounting for all the US-provided equipment, and the status of all the US-trained ANDSF personnel. The Reports includes eyewitness accounts and offers no recommendations.

As per the Report, the US government allocated nearly $90 billion in security assistance to ANDSF since 2002 to raise a self-sustaining, capable, and independent force in order to combat internal and external threats to Afghanistan. The force was trained, mentored, and employed in joint operations by the US/NATO forces over two decades.

The Report cites 'ANDSF's dependency on US [Coalition] military forces' as the basis of collapse, as it never allowed ANSDF to mature into a self-sustaining force, outside the US/NATO security umbrella. Rapid pull-back of all the US military personnel, and substantial reduction in the US support, consequent to the February 2020 Doha Agreement with Taliban, were catalysts for disintegration. This 'destroyed the morale of Afghan soldiers and police', as the US/ NATO combat support protected it against large-scale losses. The Afghan troops also saw America as their paymaster, ensuring timely disbursement of salaries.

SIGAR cites the Doha agreement having accentuated ANSDF's sense of abandonment due to sudden curtailment of the US combat strength on ground and consequent reduction in the US airstrikes, 'a critical force-multiplier'...

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