Afghan Army Turnover Threatens U.S. Strategy

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New York Times, 15 October 2012
Well, ‘turnover’ is a cautious word: This article discusses the -rising – figures of defections from the ANA. Ron Nordland writes that ‘deserters complain of corruption among their officers, poor food and equipment, indifferent medical care, Taliban intimidation of their families and, probably most troublingly, a lack of belief in the army’s ability to fight the insurgents after the American military withdraws’. Even the chief of the ANA National Recruiting Center, Colonel Stanikzai, admits to a bleak outlook: ‘The news of the American withdrawal has weakened our morale and boosted the morale of the enemy’.