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Further Reading

Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)

Building Afghanistan's capacity to provide for its own security was a major priority of the US effort in the country following the ouster of the Taliban in 2002. Besides efforts to defeat the Taliban-led insurgency and provide reconstruction and development to Afghanistan's people, the US and its international partners, and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) were focused on fielding and sustaining the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). The ANSF conisted of the Afghan National Army (ANA; which included the ANA Air Corps and later the Afghan Air Force), under the authority of the Ministry of Defense, and Afghan National Police (ANP), under the authority of the Ministry of Interior. These forces represented critical pillars for establishing security and stability in Afghanistan. The long-term goal was to build and develop ANSF that were nationally respected; professional; ethnically balanced; democratically accountable; organized, trained, and equipped to meet the security needs of the country; and increasingly funded from GIRoA revenue.

The plan for ANSF development was consistent with the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). The ANDS laid out the strategic priorities and mechanisms for achieving the government's overall development vision. The plan for developing the ANSF was also consistent with the Afghanistan Compact, an agreement which defined a political partnership between the GIRoA and the international community. According to the compact, the international community committed itself to providing the budgetary, materiel, and training support necessary to develop national military forces, police services, and associated ministerial structures and the GIRoA committed itself to providing the human resources and political will. Although the US was the primary provider of ANSF training and development, other international members were contributing to the effort. The lead US agency responsible for this developemnt was the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan (CSTC-A). It operated alongside the NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan (NTM-A), with the US Commander of CSTC-A being dual-hatted as the Commander of NTM-A.

The 2001 Bonn Agreement established the goal of a 50,000-person ANA and a 62,000-person ANP. The Bonn II Agreement in December of 2002 expanded the ANA target end-strength to 70,000 personnel. Since the Bonn Agreements and the international declaration of the Afghanistan Compact in 2006, security condition evolved, with a resurgence of activity by insurgents and anti-government elements. Consequently, in May 2007, the international community's Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) approved an increase to 82,000 authorized ANP. Similarly, with the endorsement of the JCMB on 5 February 2008, the authorized ANA force structure increased to 80,000 personnel, with an additional 6,000 allotted for the trainee, transient, hospital, and student account.