Post mortem of Afghan collapse apportions blame all around
Soldiers of the former Afghan National Army train in counter-IED techniques. (Photo: ISAF)
As the world’s attention is preoccupied by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Afghanistan under Taliban rule has been largely overlooked. Afghanistan is in poor shape, with an estimated 55% of its people facing extreme hunger.
In May, a US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report was issued detailing reasons why the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) collapsed so rapidly before the Taliban.
The document – entitled ‘Collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: An Assessment of the Factors That Led to Its Demise’ – was damning of US efforts to build the ANDSF.
The
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Defence Notes
-
Industrial capacity under scrutiny as US approves further $8.6 billion Middle East arms sale
The fast-tracked emergency approvals come as the conflict in the Middle East stretches out into its third month, after Iranian attacks depleted US allies’ missile stockpiles and testing air defence systems.
-
Intelligence innovation: From data overload to decision advantage (Podcast)
As militaries face an overwhelming flow of data, the challenge is shifting from collection to delivering fast, actionable insights that drive decision-making. Advances in AI and data integration are helping armed forces move beyond siloed systems to generate real-time intelligence across domains and allies.
-
SAHA 2026 to Convene the Global Defence Ecosystem
SAHA 2026 brings global defence and aerospace leaders to Istanbul for partnerships, launches, panels and high-value meetings.
-
Teledyne FLIR adds GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities to its CBRN uncrewed platforms
In a partnership with Emesent, Teledyne FLIR will equip its autonomous air, ground and detection systems with the Hovermap LiDAR payload in a move that highlights a broader market shift towards modular architectures, shared payloads and interoperability across platforms.
-
US seeks 32% boost for missile defence budget with $23 billion earmarked for interceptors
The Pentagon’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes an impressive increase in the procurement of interceptors, with the number of the US Army’s PAC-3 MSE rounds expanding by 683%, the US Navy’s Standard Missile by 365% and the MDA’s SM-3 IIA by more than 1,000%.
-
US Army partners with Global Military Products to surge munitions production
Global Military Products was selected by the US Army to operate the Quad Cities Cartridge Case Facility and ramp up the production of various calibre shell cases.