Pentagon seeks $3.3b for Afghan security forces

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Pentagon has sought $3.3 billion in the 2022 budget in operational support to sustain Afghan security forces — a 9.2 percent increase from 2021.

On Friday, the Biden administration submitted to Congress the 2022 budget request of $752.9 billion for national defense.

An amount of $715 billion is for the Department of Defense (DoD), including $3.3 billion for Afghanistan, according to the budget report.

The defence budget submission is indicative of Biden’s priorities to end the “forever wars and invest in cutting-edge capabilities for the US military.

Given Biden’s decision to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan, the 2022 budget request of $42.1 billion supports this drawdown, the resulting force posture and other contingency operations.

The request supports the continued development of the Afghan army and police to serve as an effective security force that is able to battle terrorism and insurgent threats.

The Pentagon continues building partnerships using the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund (ASFF) ($3.3 billion) for the sustainment, infrastructure, equipment and training requirements for an authorisd force of up to 352,000 Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Ministry of Interior (MoI) personnel.

“Although the US plans withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, there are residual costs in the budget, which include equipment reset and readiness, in-theater support and operations/force protection,” the report added.

Pentagon officials say the United States would still support Afghanistan through financial means, not boots on the grounds.

DoD official Anne McAndrew told journalists: “We retained funds for an over-the-horizon capability outside Afghanistan and to deter Iran… we must also ensure that the components have sufficient resources to transition out of Afghanistan responsibly.”

PAN Monitor/mud