The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), also known as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), were the military and internal security forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. [1] [2]
As of 30 June 2020, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) or Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) were composed of the Afghan National Army (including the Afghan Border Force, Afghan Air Force, Afghan Territorial Army, Afghan National Civil Order Force), Afghan National Police (including Afghan Local Police), and the National Directorate of Security (including the Afghan Special Force). [2]
In August 2021, after the Taliban captured the Afghan capital Kabul and other major cities, US President Joe Biden said that the forces collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight and that they were not willing to fight for themselves, with the exception of very brave and capable Afghan special forces units and soldiers. [3] [4] In an Al Jazeera editorial Abdul Basit wrote that the forces "preferred to save their lives by surrendering to the Taliban under its amnesty offers". [5]
The Afghan National Security Forces consisted of
NATO special operations forces trained, advised and assisted the ANASOC, SMW and GCPSU who were collectively known as the Afghan Special Security Forces (ASSF). [18] [19] [20] The ASSF was described as the "ANDSF’s primary offensive forces". [20]
The National Directorate of Security (NDS) was the state intelligence and security service and was part of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. [21] The NDS reported directly to the Office of President. [22]
The Islamic National Army, also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Hotak dynasty was established in Kandahar followed by Ahmad Shah Durrani's rise to power. It was reorganized in 1880 during Emir Abdur Rahman Khan's reign. Afghanistan remained neutral during the First and Second World Wars. From the 1960s to the early 1990s, the Afghan Army was equipped by the Soviet Union.
Deh Rawood is a district in Uruzgan Province, southern Afghanistan, and the name of the town that serves as district seat. Deh Rawood lies along the Helmand River. The tribes in the district are Pashtun, dominated by the Noorzai and Populzai sub-tribes.
Washir is a district in the west of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Its population was reported in 2012 as 15,200, from the Pashtun ethnic group believed to be of Noorzai tribe. The district centre is the village of Washir. The district of Washer borders Farah province to the north and is 80 kilometres south of Lashkar Gah.
The Ministry of Interior Affairs is the cabinet ministry of Afghanistan responsible for law enforcement, civil order and fighting crime. The ministry's headquarters is located in Kabul.
The National Directorate of Security was the national intelligence and security service of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The headquarters of the NDS was in Kabul, and it had field offices and training facilities in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. The NDS was part of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
The Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan was a multinational, U.S. led, military organization during the War in Afghanistan.
Task Force Phoenix, or more properly known as Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, was an international military formation. It was organized by the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in 2003-2004 to train and mentor the newly created Afghan National Army/Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to establish and maintain law and order throughout Afghanistan using Embedded Training Teams or ETTs.
The Afghan National Civil Order Force (ANCOF), formerly known as the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP), was an Afghan National Army (ANA) force responsible for civil order and counterinsurgency.
Train Advise Assist Command – East was a multinational military formation, part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan. Until 2014 it was designated Regional Command East, part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The United States Army provided the force headquarters. The command headquarters was located in Laghman Province.
The NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (NTM-A) was a multinational military organisation, activated in November 2009, tasked with providing a higher-level training for the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan Air Force (AAF), including defense colleges and academies, as well as being responsible for doctrine development, and training and advising Afghan National Police (ANP). The commanding officer was dual-hatted and commanded both NTM-A and Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A) and reported to the Commander of ISAF.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is the U.S. government's leading oversight authority on Afghanistan reconstruction. Congress created the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction to provide independent and objective oversight of the Afghanistan Reconstruction funds. Under the authority of Section 1229 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, SIGAR seeks to conducts audit, inspections, and investigations to promote efficiency and effectiveness of reconstruction programs, and to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars. SIGAR also has a hotline that allows individuals to report suspected fraud.
The Afghan National Army Special Operations Command was a special forces formation of the Afghan National Army, established in 2011.
Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 December 2014. Pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2189 of 2014, RSM was a noncombat mission aimed at advising and training Afghan security forces to provide long-term security to the country, under the aegis of the Security and Defence Cooperation Agreement BSA between the United States and Afghanistan, which was originally supposed to run from 1 January 2015 and "shall remain in force until the end of 2024 and beyond" unless terminated with two years' advance notice.
Operation Freedom's Sentinel (OFS) was the official name used by the U.S. government for the mission succeeding Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in continuation of the War in Afghanistan as part of the larger Global War on Terrorism. Operation Freedom's Sentinel is part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission, which began on January 1, 2015. OFS had two components: counterterrorism and working with allies as part of Resolute Support.
The United States Armed Forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan on 30 August 2021, marking the end of the 2001–2021 war. In February 2020, the Trump administration and the Taliban signed the United States–Taliban deal in Doha, Qatar, which stipulated fighting restrictions for both the US and the Taliban, and provided for the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan in return for the Taliban's counter-terrorism commitments. The deal, and then the Biden administration's final decision in April 2021 to pull out all US troops by September 2021 without leaving a residual force, were the two critical events that triggered the start of the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Following the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks on the Taliban at the detriment of the ANSF fighting the Taliban insurgency, leading to the Taliban takeover of Kabul on 15 August 2021.
The Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan, commonly known as the United States–Taliban deal or the Doha Accord, was a peace agreement signed by the United States and the Taliban on 29 February 2020 in Doha, Qatar, to bring an end to the 2001–2021 war in Afghanistan. Negotiated for the US by Zalmay Khalilzad for the Trump Administration, the agreement did not involve the then Afghan government. The deal, which also had secret annexes, was one of the critical events that caused the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces. Adhering to the conditions of the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of US air raids, leaving the ANSF without a key advantage in keeping the Taliban at bay. This resulted in 'a sense of abandonment within the ANSF and the Afghan population'. ANSF was ill-prepared to sustain security following a US withdrawal, which allowed for the Taliban insurgency, ultimately leading to the Taliban takeover of Kabul on 15 August 2021.
The 2021 Taliban offensive was a military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Kabul-based Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan that had begun following the United States invasion of the country. The Taliban victory had widespread domestic and international ramifications regarding human rights and proliferation of terrorism. The offensive included a continuation of the bottom-up succession of negotiated or paid surrenders to the Taliban from the village level upwards that started following the February 2020 US–Taliban deal.
The Battle of Kandahar began on 9 July 2021, as Taliban insurgents assaulted the city to capture it from the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). After heavy fighting for weeks the city's defenses had started to dissolve in August. This allowed the Taliban to enter and overrun most of the city on 12 August 2021, including the Sarposa prison, which included the release of over 1,000 prisoners, and ultimately the capture of the city. However, the siege for the nearby airport continued, where government loyalists held out until being evacuated on 16 August.
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic that ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002) and transitional (2002–2004) administrations, which were formed after the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan that had toppled the partially recognized Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. However, on 15 August 2021, the country was recaptured by the Taliban, which marked the end of the 2001–2021 war, the longest war in US history. This led to the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, led by President Ashraf Ghani, and the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate under the control of the Taliban. While the United Nations still recognizes the Islamic Republic as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, this toppled regime controls no portion of the country today, nor does it operate in exile; it effectively no longer exists. The Islamic Emirate is the de facto ruling government. The US–Taliban deal, signed on 29 February 2020 in Qatar, was one of the critical events that caused the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Following the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks and deprived the ANSF of a critical edge in fighting the Taliban insurgency, leading to the Taliban takeover of Kabul.
After the formation of the Karzai administration in late 2001, the Afghan Armed Forces were gradually reestablished by the United States and its allies.
Afghan National Security Forces (c. 2002–2021) | ||
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