Supplying The Frontlines: Sustaining Us Troops In Afghanistan

The US Army has supplied troops in Afghanistan through a variety of means, including by land and air. The US Defense Department has stated that 75% of supplies for the war in Afghanistan are sent through or over Pakistan, including 40% of fuel. Supplies are transported through two land routes in Pakistan, one through the Khyber Pass in northwest Pakistan to the border town of Torkham and on to Kabul, and the other through Pakistan's Baluchistan province to the border town of Chaman and on to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. Supplies are also airlifted into Afghanistan through bases in the Gulf, Europe, and Central Asia.

The US spent up to $83 billion on the Afghan army

The $83 billion investment in the Afghan army over 20 years is nearly double last year's budget for the entire US Marine Corps. It is also slightly more than what Washington budgeted for food stamp assistance for about 40 million Americans.

The US-led international military presence in Afghanistan lasted for 20 years, with tens of thousands of international troops deployed to help maintain security, train Afghan security forces, and reconstruct the country. The US also invested billions of dollars' worth of military aid per year for most of the period to strengthen the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF).

The US provided the ANDSF with equipment, supplies, services, training, funding for salaries, and facility and infrastructure repair, renovation, and construction. The Pentagon even paid the Afghan troops' salaries.

However, the Afghan army was unable to defend itself against the Taliban, who captured an array of modern military equipment, including combat aircraft, when they overran Afghan forces. The Taliban's sudden accumulation of US-supplied Afghan equipment is enormous, and the US failure to produce a sustainable Afghan army and police force will be studied for years by military analysts.

The basic dimensions of the US failure are clear and similar to what happened in Iraq. The Afghan forces were equipped with superior arms but lacked the crucial ingredient of combat motivation. They chose to surrender their vehicles and weapons rather than fight.

The US misjudged the viability of Afghan government forces, and the rapid collapse of the Afghan army raised concerns about the thousands of interpreters and others who aided Americans and were waiting for visas to exit Afghanistan. The US was forced to speed up additional aircraft and personnel to Kabul's airport to keep the runways open and evacuate US citizens safely.

The US provided military aid worth $72.7 billion

The ASFF was created by the US Congress and provided the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) with $71.7 billion. The Train and Equip Fund provided an additional $440 million. The Department of State (DoS) also provided military aid worth $564 million through the International Military Education and Training (IMET), Foreign Military Finance (FMF), and Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) funds.

The US military aid to Afghanistan was initially very low, with the DoD and DoS spending less than $1 billion annually between 2001 and 2005. By 2008, annual aid outlays had increased to $7.4 billion, coinciding with the US becoming a significant troop contributor in multilateral peace operations. However, the global financial and economic crisis led to a temporary decrease in aid, and by 2010, aid to Afghanistan had fallen to $5.2 billion.

US military aid to Afghanistan then peaked, reaching almost $9 billion per year in 2011 and again in 2013. This increase in military assistance corresponded to a renewed commitment by the US and its NATO allies to bolster the ANDSF to be fully responsible for security across the country by the end of 2014.

The US government disbursed almost $73 billion in military aid to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2020, which was almost 20 times the amount of Afghanistan's own military expenditure. Despite the US providing the ANDSF with equipment, training, services, funding for salaries, infrastructure, and more, it took the Taliban a little over four months to take over Afghanistan and control Kabul after the announcement in April 2021 that NATO's Resolute Support Mission would end.

The US trained Afghan security forces

The US-trained Afghan security forces were intended to be a strong Afghan army and police force that could defend the country on their own. However, despite years of training and billions of dollars in investment, the Afghan security forces collapsed quickly and completely, with some forces choosing to surrender their vehicles and weapons rather than fight.

The US Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of State (DOS) were responsible for training the Afghan security forces. Between 2001 and 2020, disbursements to Afghanistan from the DOD and DOS totalled $72.7 billion in current dollars ($81.6 billion in constant 2019 dollars). Nearly all (99.2%) of this military aid came from the DOD, through the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund (ASFF) and a separate Train and Equip Fund. The DOS provided military aid under the International Military Education and Training (IMET), Foreign Military Finance (FMF) and Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) funds.

The US-trained Afghan security forces included the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP). The ANA was created in 2002 and incrementally progressed from an infantry-centric force to an army with both fighting elements and enabling capabilities. The role of the ANP shifted from countering the insurgency to a more civilian policing role.

However, the US-trained Afghan security forces faced several challenges. Only about 2 in 10 Afghan recruits could read or write, and US and NATO trainers put them through crash literacy courses that lasted only a few weeks. There were also issues with motivation and loyalty, with ethnic and tribal tensions posing a perpetual problem. The officer corps was dominated by warlords who doled out promotions based on patronage.

The training programs for the Afghan security forces were also ill-designed, poorly coordinated, and thinly staffed. US military leaders downplayed the problems and insisted that success was coming. However, the sudden collapse of the Afghan security forces in 2021 demonstrated that the training programs had ultimately failed to produce a sustainable Afghan army and police force.

The US provided financial support to the Afghan government

The US has provided extensive financial support to Afghanistan, with the aim of strengthening the Afghan government and fostering economic development. Here is a detailed overview of the US financial assistance to Afghanistan:

• Security Assistance: The US has provided significant security assistance to Afghanistan, totalling nearly $88 billion since 2002. This includes funding for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, such as the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, Afghan Air Force, and Special Security Forces. The Afghanistan Security Forces Fund (ASFF) is a key component of this support, with Congress appropriating over $3 billion in 2021 and requesting over $3.3 billion for 2022.
• Civilian Assistance: The US has also offered substantial civilian assistance, amounting to $36 billion since 2002. This includes support for various sectors such as education, health, women's empowerment, rule of law, and economic growth. Notably, $787 million was specifically allocated to support Afghan women and girls.
• Humanitarian Assistance: Recognizing the urgent humanitarian needs in Afghanistan, the US has provided nearly $3.9 billion in humanitarian assistance. This aid is directed towards addressing food insecurity, providing essential health care, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and protecting vulnerable groups such as women, girls, and minorities.
• Development Assistance: The US has committed to sustaining development assistance to Afghanistan, with a focus on improving access to essential services, promoting economic growth, fighting corruption, and strengthening governance. For instance, in 2021, the US announced an additional $300 million in civilian assistance through the Department of State and USAID.
• COVID-19 Support: In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the US has provided critical medical assistance to Afghanistan, including vaccine donations, emergency funding for oxygen cylinders and ventilators, and support for vaccine deployment.
• Support for Peace and Stability: The US has consistently advocated for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, urging the Taliban to engage in meaningful peace talks and respect the rights of all Afghans. The US has also pressed for the protection of women's rights and the preservation of social gains in education, health, and women's empowerment.

The US coordinated with NATO allies

In addition to ISAF, the US and NATO also supported the development of Afghan security forces through the Resolute Support Mission (RSM). RSM focused on training, advising, and assisting Afghan security forces and institutions. It was launched in 2015, after the completion of ISAF, and involved personnel from 36 NATO Allies and partner countries. The mission was terminated in 2021, following the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan.

The US and NATO also coordinated on the financial sustainment of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF). This included contributions to the NATO-run ANA Trust Fund, as well as other funding streams such as the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA) and the US Afghanistan Security Forces Fund (ASFF). These funds were used to support the salaries of security forces, as well as the purchase of equipment and fuel.

Overall, the US and NATO coordination in Afghanistan involved a combination of military support through ISAF and RSM, as well as financial support for the development and sustainment of Afghan security forces.

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