Reconstructing the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan
Reconstructing the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan

Author: Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction (U.S.)

Publisher: U.S. Independent Agencies and Commissions

Published: 2017-08

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 9780160948312

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This publication is the second in a series of lessons learned reports which examine how the U.S. government and Departments of Defense, State, and Justice carried out reconstruction programs in Afghanistan. In particular, the report analyzes security sector assistance (SSA) programs to create, train and advise the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) between 2002 and 2016. This publication concludes that the effort to train the ANDSF needs to continue, and provides recommendations for the SSA programs to be improved, based on lessons learned from careful analysis of real reconstruction situations in Afghanistan. The publication states that the United States was never prepared to help create Afghan police and military forces capable of protecting that country from internal and external threats. It is the hope of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), John F. Sopko, that this publication, and other SIGAR reports will create a body of work that can help provide reasonable solutions to help United States agencies and military forces improve reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Related items: Counterterrorism publications can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/counterterrorism Counterinsurgency publications can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/counterinsurgency Warfare & Military Strategy publications can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/warfare-military-strategy Afghanistan War publications can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/afghanistan-war

Partnership for the Americas: Western Hemisphere Strategy and U.S. Southern Command
Partnership for the Americas: Western Hemisphere Strategy and U.S. Southern Command

Author: James G. Stavridis

Publisher: NDU Press

Published: 2014-02-23

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13:

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Since its creation in 1963, United States Southern Command has been led by 30 senior officers representing all four of the armed forces. None has undertaken his leadership responsibilities with the cultural sensitivity and creativity demonstrated by Admiral Jim Stavridis during his tenure in command. Breaking with tradition, Admiral Stavridis discarded the customary military model as he organized the Southern Command Headquarters. In its place he created an organization designed not to subdue adversaries, but instead to build durable and enduring partnerships with friends. His observation that it is the business of Southern Command to launch "ideas not missiles" into the command's area of responsibility gained strategic resonance throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America, and at the highest levels in Washington, DC.

Counternarcotics
Counternarcotics

Author: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2018-08-20

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9781722208615

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Counternarcotics : lessons from the U.S. experience in Afghanistan.

World Development Report 2011
World Development Report 2011

Author: World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2011-05-01

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 0821384406

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The 2011 WDR on Conflict, Security and Development underlines the devastating impact of persistent conflict on a country or region's development prospects - noting that the 1.5 billion people living in conflict-affected areas are twice as likely to be in poverty. Its goal is to contribute concrete, practical suggestions on conflict and fragility.

Freedom in the World 2009
Freedom in the World 2009

Author: Arch Puddington

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2009-10

Total Pages: 932

ISBN-13: 9781442201224

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Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 193 countries and a group of select territories are used by policy makers, the media, international corporations, and civic activists and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. Press accounts of the survey findings appear in hundreds of influential newspapers in the United States and abroad and form the basis of numerous radio and television reports. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

Failed State 2030
Failed State 2030

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781585662036

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" This monograph describes how a failed state in 2030 may impact the United States and the global economy. It also identifies critical capabilities and technologies the US Air Force should have to respond to a failed state, especially one of vital interest to the United States and one on the cusp of a civil war. Nation-states can fail for a myriad of reasons: cultural or religious conflict, a broken social contract between the government and the governed, a catastrophic natural disaster, financial collapse, war and so forth. Nigeria with its vast oil wealth, large population, and strategic position in Africa and the global economy can, if it fails disproportionately affect the United States and the global economy. Nigeria, like many nations in Africa, gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960. It is the most populous country in Africa and will have nearly 250 million people by 2030. In its relatively short modern history, Nigeria has survived five military coups as well as separatist and religious wars, is mired in an active armed insurgency, is suffering from disastrous ecological conditions in its Niger Delta region, and is fighting one of the modern world's worst legacies of political and economic corruption. A nation with more than 350 ethnic groups, 250 languages, and three distinct religious affiliations--Christian, Islamic, and animist Nigeria's 135 million people today are anything but homogenous. Of Nigeria's 36 states, 12 are Islamic and under the strong and growing influence of the Sokoto caliphate. While religious and ethnic violence are commonplace, the federal government has managed to strike a tenuous balance among the disparate religious and ethnic factions. With such demographics, Nigeria's failure would be akin to a piece of fine china dropped on a tile floor--it would simply shatter into potentially hundreds of pieces."--DTIC abstract.

Finding the Right Balance
Finding the Right Balance

Author: Linda Robinson

Publisher:

Published: 2018-05-10

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781977400468

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"The pendulum regarding the level of U.S. military participation in stabilization efforts has swung dramatically since 2001, from a low level of preparation and participation in the early days of the Afghanistan and Iraq operations in 2003, to widespread stabilization activities costing billions of dollars in the ensuing years, to significantly scaled-back forces and resources devoted to stabilization in recent years. To remedy the initial lack of preparation, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) issued a directive with guidance on stabilization requirements in 2005 and then updated it with more expansive requirements in 2009. This report supports DoD efforts to update this guidance by assessing the accumulated experience of the past 17 years and evaluating the appropriate roles for the U.S. military and its ability to execute them in conjunction with interagency and other key partners. Without stabilization, successful warfighting often does not produce desired political outcomes. Yet warfighters are not the most capable actors for many stabilization tasks. Therefore, the authors recommend shifting DoD guidance on stabilization away from requiring high levels of proficiency in a large number of tasks to emphasizing three key roles for DoD: prioritizing security tasks; providing support to other actors performing stability functions; and performing crosscutting informational, planning, coordination, and physical support roles."--Publisher's description

CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING: DOD, State, and USAID Contracts and Contractor Personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan
CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING: DOD, State, and USAID Contracts and Contractor Personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13:

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DOD, State, and USAID reported that they obligated at least $33.9 billion during fiscal year 2007 and the first half of fiscal year 2008 on 56,925 contracts with performance in either Iraq or Afghanistan. Almost three-fourths of the reported obligations were for contracts with performance in Iraq, with DOD having significantly more obligations than the other two agencies combined. The three agencies contracts were for services and supplies related to efforts such as construction and capacity building, as well as a range of support services for U.S. military forces and other government personnel. Of the agencies active contracts, almost 97 percent were awarded during the 18-month review period. The extent to which the agencies were required to compete these contracts depended on where the contract was awarded and performed, its dollar value, and the contracting method used. For all of the contracts awarded during the review period, the agencies reported that about two-thirds were competed to one extent or another. Competitively awarded contracts accounted for almost 85 percent of the obligations on new awards. The agencies reported using various competitive procedures, including full and open competition and simplified acquisition procedures, such as competitions among prequalified companies. However, DOD may have understated the extent to which it competed new awards. Of the 85 files we reviewed in Iraq and Afghanistan, we found 14 instances in which DOD reported that the contract had not been competitively awarded but the files indicated that competitive procedures were used to award the contract.

Contingency Contracting
Contingency Contracting

Author: John Hutton

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 67

ISBN-13: 1437923585

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The Departments of Defense (DoD) and State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have relied extensively on contractors to provide a range of services in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the agencies have faced challenges in obtaining sufficient information to plan and manage their use of contractors. This report analyzed DoD, State, and USAID data for Iraq and Afghanistan for FY 2008 and the first half of FY 2009 on the: (1) status of agency efforts to track information on contracts and contractor personnel; (2) number of contractor personnel; (3) number of killed and wounded contractors; and (4) number and value of contracts and the extent to which they were awarded competitively. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables.