Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan June 2019 Report to Congress In Accordance With Section 1225 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (P.L. 113-291), as amended. The estimated cost of this report for the Department of Defense is approximately $304,528 for the Fiscal Year 2019. This includes $17,000 in expenses and $304,511 in DoD labor. Generated on Jun 27, 2019 RefID: E-247BED4 This report is submitted in accordance with Sections 1225 and 1532 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 (P.L. 113-291), as amended by Sections 1213 and 1531 of the NDAA for FY 2016 (P.L. 114-92), Sections 1215 and 1521 of the NDAA for FY 2017 (P.L. 114-328), and Sections 1215 and 1521 of the NDAA for FY 2018 (P.L. 115-91); Section 1223 of the NDAA for FY 2019 (P.L. 115-232); Section 1216 of the NDAA for FY 2016 (P.L. 114-92); addresses p. 348 of the FY 2020 House Appropriations Committee-Defense Report on H.R. 2968 (Rpt. 116-84.); and provides information sought as indicated on p. 264 of Senate Report 116-48 to accompany S. 1790, National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2020. It includes a description of the strategy of the United States for enhancing security and stability in Afghanistan, a current and anticipated threat assessment, and a description and assessment of the size, structure, strategy, budget, and financing of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. This report was prepared in coordination with the Secretary of State and is the eighth in a series of reports required semi-annually through calendar year 2020. This report describes efforts to enhance security and stability in Afghanistan from December 1, 2018, through May 31, 2019. This report complements other reports and information about Afghanistan provided to Congress and is not intended to be the single source of all information about the combined efforts or the future strategy of the United States, its coalition partners, or Afghanistan. A classified annex accompanies this report. The next report will include an analysis of efforts to enhance security and stability in Afghanistan from June 1 through November 30, 2019. TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1 Section 1 – Strategy and Objectives ............................................................................................... 3 1.1 U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan ................................................................................................. 3 1.2 U.S. Objectives in Afghanistan ............................................................................................. 4 1.3 U.S. Counterterrorism Mission ............................................................................................. 6 1.4 NATO-led Resolute Support Mission ................................................................................... 7 1.5 Building Institutional Capability ......................................................................................... 13 1.6 Peace negotiations ............................................................................................................... 15 1.7 Indications of Progress ........................................................................................................ 16 Section 2 – Threat Assessment ..................................................................................................... 17 2.1 Importance of Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations ................................................................... 17 2.2 Current Security Conditions ................................................................................................ 18 2.3 Civilian Casualties ............................................................................................................... 25 2.4 Security of Afghan Women and Girls ................................................................................. 29 Section 3 – Overview of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces ............................... 30 3.1 ANDSF Roadmap Progress ................................................................................................. 31 3.2 ANDSF Structure ................................................................................................................ 33 3.3 Progress on Developing Ministry Capacity and Capability ................................................ 34 SECTION 4 – Ministry of Defemse and Afghan National Army ................................................ 45 4.1 Ministry of Defense ............................................................................................................. 45 4.2 Afghan National Army ........................................................................................................ 51 Section 5 – Ministry of Interior and Afghan National Police ....................................................... 71 5.1 Ministry of Interior .............................................................................................................. 71 5.2 Afghan National Police ....................................................................................................... 76 Section 6 – Financing the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces ................................... 80 6.1 Stewardship and Accountability .......................................................................................... 80 6.2 U.S. Contributions ............................................................................................................... 80 6.3 International Contributions ................................................................................................. 81 6.4 Afghan Government Contributions ..................................................................................... 82 Annex A – Acronyms ................................................................................................................... 84 I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The principal goal of the South Asia Strategy is a durable and inclusive settlement to the war in Afghanistan that protects the United States homeland from terrorist attacks. General Miller’s new operational design synchronizes U.S. counterterrorism (CT) capabilities with increased Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) operations and focuses NATO Resolute Support Mission’s Train, Advise, and Assist (TAA) efforts to the “point of need.” This model has restored the Coalition’s tactical initiative and put heavy pressure on the Taliban. The objective of the operational design is to bring the Taliban to the bargaining table and to provide strong incentives for them to engage in meaningful negotiations with the U.S. and Afghan governments. The injection of new military capabilities and operational authorities coupled with the continued growth of the Afghan Air Force (AAF) and Afghan Special Security Forces (ASSF), have increased the effectiveness and efficiency of the United States’ small footprint military campaign. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation (SRAR), remains engaged in talks with the Taliban achieve a peace agreement that safeguards the U.S. homeland and could lead to a reduction in the number of U.S. forces deployed in Afghanistan. As the SRAR has stated, any comprehensive peace agreement will be made up of four interconnected parts: counterterrorism assurances; troop withdrawal; intra-Afghan negotiations that lead to a political settlement; and, a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire. During this reporting period, the ANDSF, which bears the brunt of the fighting in Afghanistan, continued to improve its ability to fight the insurgents. The ANDSF engaged in the most hard- fought winter campaign since 2002. Despite the high operational tempo, the United States and the Afghan government have gone to unprecedented lengths to limit civilian casualties. The ANDSF and Coalition focused on counter-network operations against the Taliban and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – Khorasan (ISIS-K). These operations inflicted heavy losses on militants and prevented these groups from reaching their objectives. Cooperation and coordination between U.S. Forces in Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and the ANDSF reached unprecedented levels as U.S. advisers synchronized CT and TAA efforts with ANDSF campaign objectives. Key Afghan and U.S. senior leaders met weekly to share intelligence, prioritize objectives, allocate assets, and coordinate operations. These initiatives resulted in a more focused, successful military campaign. The NATO Resolute Support Mission’s Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A) adjusted its advisory programs and took advantage of the deployment of the 2nd U.S. Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB), which enabled the Command to send advisors to more 1 locations to work with the ANDSF, including in districts where the Coalition did not have a large presence. Terrorist and insurgent groups continue to challenge Afghan, U.S., and Coalition forces. During this reporting period, ISIS-K made territorial gains in eastern Afghanistan. Regionally the group continues to evade, counter, and resist sustained CT pressure. While ISIS-K remains operationally limited to South and Central Asia, the group harbors intentions to attack international targets. Al- Qa’ida (AQ) and Al-Qa’ida in the