A US&nbsp;government watchdog on Friday accused the State Department and Pentagon of suppressing information that lawmakers and the public need to understand the collapse of Afghanistan's former government and military and the chaotic US troop pullout.

"The full picture of what happened in August - and all the warning signs that could have predicted the outcome - will only be revealed if the information that the departments of Defense and State have already restricted from public release is made available," said John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR).

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A State Department spokesperson said the department had requested "some reports be temporarily removed to redact identifying information from public records and protect the identities of Afghans and Afghan partner organizations" due to security concerns about the evacuation effort.

"The identifying information are the only details intended to be shielded," the spokesperson said, adding that SIGAR has the authority to restore the reports.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Addressing reporters, Sopko said that after the Taliban seized Kabul, the State Department asked him to temporarily suspend online access to certain reports he issued to ensure the safety of US-affiliated Afghans.

The department "was never able to describe any specific threats to individuals that were supposedly contained in our reports," said Sopko, who added he "reluctantly" barred access to the documents.

The State Department, he continued, recently sought redactions of some 2,400 items remaining on SIGAR's website.

Some requests were "bizarre," such as excising former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's name from reports, Sopko said.

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After a review, his agency found only four items meriting redaction, and left the remainder accessible.

Noting that Congress tasked him with investigating the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government and military, he said the Pentagon has since 2015 barred from public release a range of data purportedly at the former Ghani government's request.

Most of that information, including casualty data and unit strengths, was "all you needed to know to determine whether the Afghan security forces were a real fighting force or a house of cards," he said.

A US government watchdog on Friday accused the State Department and Pentagon of suppressing information that lawmakers and the public need to understand the collapse of Afghanistan's former government and military and the chaotic US troop pullout.

A US government watchdog on Friday accused the State Department and Pentagon of suppressing information that lawmakers and the public need to understand the collapse of Afghanistan's former government and military and the chaotic US troop pullout. "The full picture of what happened in August - and all the warning signs that could have predicted the outcome - will only be revealed if the information that the departments of Defense and State have already restricted from public release is made available," said John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR). Also Read | 'Just give us our money': Taliban push to unlock Afghan billions abroad A State Department spokesperson said the department had requested "some reports be temporarily removed to redact identifying information from public records and protect the identities of Afghans and Afghan partner organizations" due to security concerns about the evacuation effort. "The identifying information are the only details intended to be shielded," the spokesperson said, adding that SIGAR has the authority to restore the reports. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Addressing reporters, Sopko said that after the Taliban seized Kabul, the State Department asked him to temporarily suspend online access to certain reports he issued to ensure the safety of US-affiliated Afghans. The department "was never able to describe any specific threats to individuals that were supposedly contained in our reports," said Sopko, who added he "reluctantly" barred access to the documents. The State Department, he continued, recently sought redactions of some 2,400 items remaining on SIGAR's website. Some requests were "bizarre," such as excising former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's name from reports, Sopko said. Also Read | Afghan girls learn, code 'underground' to bypass Taliban curbs After a review, his agency found only four items meriting redaction, and left the remainder accessible. Noting that Congress tasked him with investigating the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government and military, he said the Pentagon has since 2015 barred from public release a range of data purportedly at the former Ghani government's request. Most of that information, including casualty data and unit strengths, was "all you needed to know to determine whether the Afghan security forces were a real fighting force or a house of cards," he said.

State Department, Pentagon are concealing Afghanistan data: US watchdog

The US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan has stopped releasing key data on how much of the country falls under insurgent or government control, a US watchdog said Wednesday, the latest war metric to fall from public view.

NATO's Resolute Support mission previously gave a running tally on who controlled or was contesting Afghanistan's districts, and the percentage of the Afghan population this reflected.

US officials would frequently refer to the data to underscore battlefield success, but according to the US <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-military-stops-tracking-key-metric-on-afghan-war-as-situation-deteriorates-214936&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjc_q-QvPzhAhUKwI8KHXHaBZkQFjABegQIDxAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Z9CE4R3xyzy4gUtZt1dJH">Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)</a>, Resolute Support (RS) now says these district-stability assessments are "of limited decision-making value to the (mission) commander".

The last data RS provided showed the percentage of Afghans living in areas controlled or influenced by the Kabul government slipping from 65.2 per cent to 63.5 per cent.

The downward slide undermined predictions that 80 per cent of the population would be under government control by the end of this year.

SIGAR head John Sopko said the decision to withhold the data nurtured suspicion.

"When you start hiding things like this, over-classifying... You tend to create cynicism in your populace and everybody else that you're losing, or it's bad news," Sopko told journalists ahead of the SIGAR report's release.

At the request of the Afghan government, RS has also agreed to stop publishing casualty figures for Afghan security forces.&nbsp;

The numbers showed massive losses for the local forces, reaching several thousand per year.

SIGAR's report also noted that violence in Afghanistan had increased 19 per cent between November 2018 and the end of January, compared to the previous quarter.&nbsp;

The uptick comes even as the United States tries to negotiate a peace settlement with the Taliban.

A new round of talks between the insurgents and US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is expected to start in Qatar on Wednesday, according to the Taliban.

A possible deal to end the 17-year-old war would see foreign forces leave Afghanistan in return for the Taliban guaranteeing the country could not be used as a safe haven for terror groups.

But for enduring peace, any deal must include the Afghan government, and so far they have not been included in talks.

The US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan has stopped releasing key data on how much of the country falls under insurgent or government control, a US watchdog said Wednesday, the latest war metric to fall from public view.

The US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan has stopped releasing key data on how much of the country falls under insurgent or government control, a US watchdog said Wednesday, the latest war metric to fall from public view. NATO's Resolute Support mission previously gave a running tally on who controlled or was contesting Afghanistan's districts, and the percentage of the Afghan population this reflected. US officials would frequently refer to the data to underscore battlefield success, but according to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), Resolute Support (RS) now says these district-stability assessments are "of limited decision-making value to the (mission) commander". The last data RS provided showed the percentage of Afghans living in areas controlled or influenced by the Kabul government slipping from 65.2 per cent to 63.5 per cent. The downward slide undermined predictions that 80 per cent of the population would be under government control by the end of this year. SIGAR head John Sopko said the decision to withhold the data nurtured suspicion. "When you start hiding things like this, over-classifying... You tend to create cynicism in your populace and everybody else that you're losing, or it's bad news," Sopko told journalists ahead of the SIGAR report's release. At the request of the Afghan government, RS has also agreed to stop publishing casualty figures for Afghan security forces. The numbers showed massive losses for the local forces, reaching several thousand per year. SIGAR's report also noted that violence in Afghanistan had increased 19 per cent between November 2018 and the end of January, compared to the previous quarter. The uptick comes even as the United States tries to negotiate a peace settlement with the Taliban. A new round of talks between the insurgents and US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is expected to start in Qatar on Wednesday, according to the Taliban. A possible deal to end the 17-year-old war would see foreign forces leave Afghanistan in return for the Taliban guaranteeing the country could not be used as a safe haven for terror groups. But for enduring peace, any deal must include the Afghan government, and so far they have not been included in talks.

NATO drops another Afghanistan war metric: US watchdog

The United States wasted billions of dollars trying to stabilize fragile parts of Afghanistan from 2001-2017 and some efforts caused more harm than good, a US government watchdog said&nbsp;Thursday.

A report by the office of the Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction found that Washington had set unrealistic expectations for itself after the US-led invasion in 2001 and massively overestimated its ability to build and reform government institutions.

"Despite some heroic efforts to stabilize insecure and contested areas in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2017, the program mostly failed," Special Inspector General John Sopko said as he presented the report in Washington.

"This happened for a number of reasons, including the establishment of a set of unrealistic expectations about what could be achieved in just a few years' time."

The report found that the military pressured aid groups to build schools and infrastructure in areas that were still being contested by the Taliban, leading to the failure of many projects.

Most of the $4.7 billion in stabilization funds were spent after 2009 when a surge in troops to Afghanistan saw large area cleared of the Taliban -- a rush of Western experts then tried to build institutions in these areas.

But the "large sums of stabilization dollars the United States devoted to Afghanistan in search of quick gains often exacerbated conflicts, enabled corruption and bolstered support for insurgents," the report states.

"Opportunities for corruption and elite capture abounded, making many of those projects far more harmful than helpful," it adds.

The SIGAR analysis found that Washington had set expectations and programs not properly tailored for Afghanistan, and noted that successes in stabilizing Afghan districts rarely lasted longer than the physical presence of coalition troops and civilians.

"Under immense pressure to quickly stabilize insecure districts, US government agencies spent far too much money, far too quickly, in a country woefully unprepared to absorb it," SIGAR noted.

'Despite some heroic efforts to stabilize insecure and contested areas in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2017, the program mostly failed,' Special Inspector General John Sopko said

The United States wasted billions of dollars trying to stabilize fragile parts of Afghanistan from 2001-2017 and some efforts caused more harm than good, a US government watchdog said Thursday. A report by the office of the Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction found that Washington had set unrealistic expectations for itself after the US-led invasion in 2001 and massively overestimated its ability to build and reform government institutions. "Despite some heroic efforts to stabilize insecure and contested areas in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2017, the program mostly failed," Special Inspector General John Sopko said as he presented the report in Washington. "This happened for a number of reasons, including the establishment of a set of unrealistic expectations about what could be achieved in just a few years' time." The report found that the military pressured aid groups to build schools and infrastructure in areas that were still being contested by the Taliban, leading to the failure of many projects. Most of the $4.7 billion in stabilization funds were spent after 2009 when a surge in troops to Afghanistan saw large area cleared of the Taliban -- a rush of Western experts then tried to build institutions in these areas. But the "large sums of stabilization dollars the United States devoted to Afghanistan in search of quick gains often exacerbated conflicts, enabled corruption and bolstered support for insurgents," the report states. "Opportunities for corruption and elite capture abounded, making many of those projects far more harmful than helpful," it adds. The SIGAR analysis found that Washington had set expectations and programs not properly tailored for Afghanistan, and noted that successes in stabilizing Afghan districts rarely lasted longer than the physical presence of coalition troops and civilians. "Under immense pressure to quickly stabilize insecure districts, US government agencies spent far too much money, far too quickly, in a country woefully unprepared to absorb it," SIGAR noted.

US wasted billions in failed Afghan stabilization efforts: Official

The death toll among Afghan security forces has remained &quot;shockingly high&quot; this year, a United States-based watchdog said, as the US ponders about its future course of action in the war-stricken country.

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the watchdog, said 807 security personnel died and 1,328 wounded between January 1 and February 24.

The number is especially alarming because the level of violence subsides during the harsh winter months. Traditionally, the Taliban and other insurgency groups renew their attacks as spring approaches.

&quot;Afghanistan remains in the grip of a deadly war,&quot; the SIGAR report said.

&quot;Casualties suffered by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in the fight against the Taliban and other insurgents continue to be shockingly high,&quot; said SIGAR, which was set up to review the effectiveness of US support programmes.

The data were obtained from the US&nbsp;military and were based on operational reporting and may differ from official statistics provided by the Afghan government and ministries.

There has been little let-up in violence targeting Afghan forces since the period covered in the report.

On April 21 an attack by militants on an army base in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif killed 135 soldiers, according to official figures, and twice that number by other accounts.

It is important to note that the Afghan security forces took over security operations from NATO in 2015.

In a report released in February, SIGAR said at least 6,785 Afghan soldiers and police had been killed in the first 10 months of 2016. Civilian casualties last year totalled 3,498 killed and 7,920 wounded, making it the deadliest year on record for civilians.

From January to March this year, 715 civilians were killed and 1,466 wounded.

The figures come as the US&nbsp;weighs its future strategy for Afghanistan, where it has already spent more than $115 billion in reconstruction efforts.

On the upside, the Afghan security forces have increased their sphere of influence in the country.

They now control 59.7 per cent of the country, up from 57.2 per cent,&nbsp;Al Jazeera reported.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

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A US watchdog said 807 security personnel died and 1,328 wounded between January 1 and February 24

The death toll among Afghan security forces has remained "shockingly high" this year, a United States-based watchdog said, as the US ponders about its future course of action in the war-stricken country. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the watchdog, said 807 security personnel died and 1,328 wounded between January 1 and February 24. The number is especially alarming because the level of violence subsides during the harsh winter months. Traditionally, the Taliban and other insurgency groups renew their attacks as spring approaches. "Afghanistan remains in the grip of a deadly war," the SIGAR report said. "Casualties suffered by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in the fight against the Taliban and other insurgents continue to be shockingly high," said SIGAR, which was set up to review the effectiveness of US support programmes. The data were obtained from the US military and were based on operational reporting and may differ from official statistics provided by the Afghan government and ministries. There has been little let-up in violence targeting Afghan forces since the period covered in the report. On April 21 an attack by militants on an army base in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif killed 135 soldiers, according to official figures, and twice that number by other accounts. It is important to note that the Afghan security forces took over security operations from NATO in 2015. In a report released in February, SIGAR said at least 6,785 Afghan soldiers and police had been killed in the first 10 months of 2016. Civilian casualties last year totalled 3,498 killed and 7,920 wounded, making it the deadliest year on record for civilians. From January to March this year, 715 civilians were killed and 1,466 wounded. The figures come as the US weighs its future strategy for Afghanistan, where it has already spent more than $115 billion in reconstruction efforts. On the upside, the Afghan security forces have increased their sphere of influence in the country. They now control 59.7 per cent of the country, up from 57.2 per cent, Al Jazeera reported. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Afghan security forces' death toll 'shockingly high' this year: Report

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