Afghan Police Force on Shaky Ground

New statistics show that the Afghan police force, upon whose shoulders eventual U.S. and British military withdrawal is based, is experiencing an unsustainable rate of attrition that sees one in five recruits bailing every year. —JCL

The Guardian:

Afghanistan’s police force, whose success and stability is crucial to allowing the government to withdraw British troops, is losing nearly one in five recruits every year, new figures reveal.

Foreign Office statistics show that more than 20,000 officers from the Afghan National Police (ANP), the country’s main law enforcement agency, have left over the past year. The Foreign Office figures will cause concern in the armed forces, where the success of the police is seen as the basis for handing control to an Afghan government in 2014 and British troop withdrawal in 2015.

Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said the figures were “worryingly high” and could play a significant role in determining when Britain can leave.

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U.S. Army / Staff Sgt. Michael Bracken

Afghan National Police recruits at a training base in 2008.