Afghan troops reach 240,000 goal early

[unhappycamper]

Afghan troops reach 240,000 goal early
By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — NATO has reached its goal of expanding the size of Afghanistan's army and police to 240,000 three months ahead of schedule, achieving a key measurement that will be used to gauge progress in the war.

The size and quality of Afghan security forces will be a central part of a review that the White House will be conducting in December to measure the effectiveness of its strategy of emphasizing protecting civilians in Afghanistan.

The improved recruitment and retention follow a pay raise and improvements in a payroll system. NATO has also increased the number of trainers dedicated to working with Afghan soldiers.

"Before we were training them very quickly and throwing them into the fight," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the Armed Services Committee. "It didn't work too well."

The quality of the recruits is also improving, according to statistics. A year ago, only about 25% of the soldiers graduating from basic training passed a weapon-qualification test. Today, between 90% and 95% pass the test, said Jack Kem, deputy director of the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan.



unhappycamper comment: "It didn't work too well." :wtf:

Nine years, half a trillion dollars, 1223 dead American soldiers and all Graham can say is "It didn't work too well"?

[saigon68]

1. Pissing away my grandchildrens quality of life

"Hey, Pass the Lobster Thermidor and the Dom Perrignon", shouted one military industrialist to another.


Lobster Thermidor is a French dish consisting of a creamy mixture of cooked lobster meat, egg yolks, and cognac or brandy, stuffed into a lobster shell, and optionally served with an oven-browned cheese crust, typically Gruyère. The sauce must contain mustard (typically powdered mustard).

Lobster Thermidor was created in 1894 by Marie's, a Paris restaurant near the theatre Comédie Française, to honour the opening of the play Thermidor by Victorien Sardou. The play took its name from a summer month in the French Republican Calendar, during which the Thermidorian Reaction occurred, overthrowing Robespierre and ending the Reign of Terror.<1> Due to expensive and extensive preparation involved, Lobster Thermidor is usually considered a recipe primarily for special occasions. A related lobster recipe is Lobster Newberg.

Note: (we won't be having this for dinner tonight)