kumarkumar1867
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Afghanistan 'will be unable to run military bases post Nato withdrawal'
By Ben Farmer, Kabul
Afghanistan will probably be unable to keep running the military bases its international backers have spent billions building after Nato troops leave, a US Congressional report has said.
Kabul's military has neither the staff, nor the expertise, to maintain or operate hundreds of bases it will inherit from the coalition troops as they prepare to withdraw combat forces by the end of 2014.
The audit from a Congressional watchdog which checks the billions America has poured into Afghanistan questioned whether the efforts to bolster the Afghan police and army against the Taliban were sustainable.
The Afghan government would "likely be incapable of fully sustaining Afghan national security forces facilities after the transition in 2014 and the expected decrease in US and coalition support" it warned.
Building up the Afghan forces so they can one day assume the fight against the Taliban has been a central pillar of coalition strategy.
Between 2002 and 2012, America has spent $52 billion (£32 billion) to equip, train, house, and sustain the forces, including about $12 billion alone to build bases.
Yet as they are handed over as Nato troops withdraw, Afghans lack engineers and maintenance staff to keep them going, and struggle with procurement and logistics.
The report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found only two fifths of Afghan operations and maintenance posts had been filled.
The Afghan forces lack "personnel with the technical skills required to operate and maintain critical facilities, such as water supply, waste water treatment and power generation".
The Afghan Ministry of Defence procurement process was unable to provide the Afghan army with supplies in a timely manner the report found.
The American Army Corps of Engineers has appointed a contractor to take care of the bases and to train up Afghan staff until Kabul can take care of its own facilities.
But the report found the contractor, ITT Exelis Systems Corporation of Virginia, would run out of money 16 months before one of its two contracts was due to end.
The Army Corps, in written comments accompanying the report, said it agreed with the recommendations and was taking steps to address them.
SIGAR also announced on Thursday that it would launch an investigation into $230 million (£143 million) worth of missing spare parts ordered for the Afghan army.
By Ben Farmer, Kabul
Afghanistan will probably be unable to keep running the military bases its international backers have spent billions building after Nato troops leave, a US Congressional report has said.
Afghan local police trainees in Helmand
Kabul's military has neither the staff, nor the expertise, to maintain or operate hundreds of bases it will inherit from the coalition troops as they prepare to withdraw combat forces by the end of 2014.
The audit from a Congressional watchdog which checks the billions America has poured into Afghanistan questioned whether the efforts to bolster the Afghan police and army against the Taliban were sustainable.
The Afghan government would "likely be incapable of fully sustaining Afghan national security forces facilities after the transition in 2014 and the expected decrease in US and coalition support" it warned.
Building up the Afghan forces so they can one day assume the fight against the Taliban has been a central pillar of coalition strategy.
Between 2002 and 2012, America has spent $52 billion (£32 billion) to equip, train, house, and sustain the forces, including about $12 billion alone to build bases.
Yet as they are handed over as Nato troops withdraw, Afghans lack engineers and maintenance staff to keep them going, and struggle with procurement and logistics.
The report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found only two fifths of Afghan operations and maintenance posts had been filled.
The Afghan forces lack "personnel with the technical skills required to operate and maintain critical facilities, such as water supply, waste water treatment and power generation".
The Afghan Ministry of Defence procurement process was unable to provide the Afghan army with supplies in a timely manner the report found.
The American Army Corps of Engineers has appointed a contractor to take care of the bases and to train up Afghan staff until Kabul can take care of its own facilities.
But the report found the contractor, ITT Exelis Systems Corporation of Virginia, would run out of money 16 months before one of its two contracts was due to end.
The Army Corps, in written comments accompanying the report, said it agreed with the recommendations and was taking steps to address them.
SIGAR also announced on Thursday that it would launch an investigation into $230 million (£143 million) worth of missing spare parts ordered for the Afghan army.
... No end to Indian wet dreams , I must say ...
