DOD Releases Report on Progress in Afghanistan
November 08, 2013

The November 2013 “Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan,” a report to Congress in accordance with Section 1230 and 1231 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181), as amended; to include section 1221 of the NDAA for FY 2012 (Public Law 112-81); and sections 1212, 1223, and 1531(d) of the NDAA for FY 2013 (Public Law 112-239) was provided today to Congress.

While the insurgency remains resilient there has been a fundamental shift in the course of the conflict. “Afghan security forces are now successfully providing security for their own people, fighting their own battles, and holding their own against the insurgency,” according to Pentagon Press Secretary George Little.

The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) continue to progress and they now conduct 95 percent of conventional operations and 98 percent of special operations in Afghanistan. This year marked the first fighting season with Afghan forces in the lead for security operations throughout the country. The only unilateral operations that International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) continues to conduct are ISAF force protection, route clearance, and redeployment.

“The fact that the ANSF – a force in its infancy five years ago – has maintained the gains made by a coalition of 50 nations, with the best trained and equipped forces in the world, is a major accomplishment,” said Little.

The report is posted at http://www.defense.gov/pubs/October_1230_Report_Master_Nov7.pdf.