![]() ![]() Our view is that after two decades of war, a decade of budgetary irregularities in Washington, and nearly 10 years of gradual decline in the topline, there is no doubt that the Pentagon can make good use of these funds. The proposed 2020 national defense budget of some $750 billion (as of this writing in November 2019, a final 2020 budget has not been passed by Congress) is much larger than the Cold War average of some $575 billion or President Obama’s last budget of just over $600 billion. The Trump administration, with the bipartisan support of Congress, has achieved large increases in defense spending in recent years. This worries some in the Afghan military, which still lacks the capability to provide air cover for troops on the ground.Download the full brief Executive Summary In response to such criticism and fewer coalition operations, ISAF has reduced the use of close air support in recent years. Karzai also banned Afghan troops from requesting foreign air support. The very powerful weaponry now commonly used in combat can mean more casualties resulting from any single mistake, as in the case of Tarnak Farms.Īir strikes have long been a point of contention between the West and Kabul, with Afghan President Hamid Karzai frequently criticizing ISAF for civilian casualties caused by the attacks and issuing an executive order banning such strikes in populated areas. ![]() Still, technological improvements can make "friendly fire" incidents more lethal than in the past. Technological developments since the 1990s have greatly improved the ability of commanders to track friendly forces in combat and thus avoid identification failures, a leading cause of fratricide. In 2002, in what is known as the Tarnak Farms incident, four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight others were injured when an American F-16 pilot mistakenly dropped a bomb on a training range near the southern city of Kandahar.Īlthough "friendly fire" incidents have been common in all wars, the military says they have declined sharply since the start of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. German troops accidentally killed six Afghan soldiers in April 2010 while traveling to the scene of a clash with the Taliban in northern Afghanistan. If confirmed that "friendly fire" caused Monday’s incident, it would be the deadliest instance of fratricide since 2010. Incidents of "friendly fire" have been rare in recent years, as ISAF has severely restricted its aerial bombing and tightened rules on close air support, partly because of outrage over civilian casualties. 17, when six American soldiers were killed after insurgents brought down their Black Hawk helicopter, according to, a site that tracks troop casualties in Afghanistan. The last time this many troops died in one day was Dec. The summer months, however, are traditionally the deadliest, as insurgents stream back into the country from their winter redoubts in Pakistan. An official with Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, confirmed the details of the attack but said that two Afghan soldiers had been killed.Īnother coalition servicemember died of “nonbattle-related” injuries in a separate incident in eastern Afghanistan.Īn ISAF statement confirmed “the possibility that fratricide may have been involved” in the incident in Zabul province, adding that it was under investigation.Īs the international combat mission in Afghanistan winds down, Afghan security forces have taken over most of the day-to-day fighting in the country, and coalition troop deaths have plummeted. Roghlewani said an Afghan soldier also died after coalition troops called in air support and an aircraft mistakenly struck their position. ![]() Zabul police chief Ghulam Sakhi Roghlewani said the Americans were killed after being ambushed by insurgents in Zabul province. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |