GEN Keane: No Surprise Afghan Security Deteriorating

By General Jack Keane

General Keane, a four-star general, retired after 37 years of service which culminated in his appointment as acting Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army.  General Keane is president of GSI Consulting and serves as chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, and a former and recent member of the Secretary of Defense Policy Board.  In 2018, General Keane was the first military leader to be honored with the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award and in 2020, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Trump at the White House.

Security in Afghanistan is worsening, and the trend has been downward for over a year.  Afghan military and police force casualties are rising and rapidly reaching a point which makes it difficult to sustain, while morale is impacted as desertions are growing and some soldiers and police go months without pay.

Taliban forces are surging under the new leadership of Mullah Akhtar Mansour. The Islamic State (ISIS) has established an affiliation with former insurgents who are frustrated with the direction of the Taliban. Al-Qaeda is reemerging in Afghanistan as well.

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