Will The Afghan Army Be Ready When U.S. And NATO Forces Withdraw?

Afghanistan: An Army Prepares -- Al Jazeera

When US troops leave Afghanistan in 2014, will the country's own forces be able to hold the line against the Taliban?

The US military has an expression – no man gets left behind. But with the withdrawal of coalition combat troops from Afghanistan in 2014 drawing closer, the men of the Afghan National Army (ANA) could be forgiven for feeling that they are indeed being abandoned.

In order to be able to leave and not have Afghanistan collapse immediately on their departure, the Americans announced at the end of 2009 that the size of the ANA would be increased to almost 200,000 soldiers.

A huge recruitment and training drive began, with new military training centres being set up around the country to facilitate the explosion in numbers.

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Update: Afghans Urged to Take All Military Tasks Except Aviation -- Bloomberg Businessweek

My Comment: There will still probably be about 6,000 - 9,000 U.S. soldiers in the country after 2014 .... as well as some U.S. air support .... so the Afghan Army will not be entirely alone. But the Afghan Army will need to step up and only time will tell if they have the ability to fight and hold back the Taliban. What's my prediction .... if Afghanistan's political leadership cannot get their act together, the Afghan Army will be under increased pressure as more Afghans become dissatisfied with the central government.