ANDSF training – where did it go so wrong? (Analysis)

Although many refer to Afghanistan as ‘the graveyard of empires', this cliché does in part describe how the three Anglo-Afghan wars starting in 1839, the Soviet occupation from 1979 to 1989 and the US/NATO presence from 2001 to 2021, have ended in military failure and humiliation.

The 2001 US invasion to remove the Taliban government and its support and harbouring of the al-Qaeda terrorist network was rapidly terminated by President Joe Biden, without any awareness of the thought and time needed to establish a robust handover process and exit strategy.

There is, however, a counter-narrative to this view