Afghanistan War News Updates -- January 11, 2017

FOX News: Afghanistan's 'ghost soldiers' take scary toll on US taxpayers, says watchdog

The U.S. government is paying the salaries of “tens of thousands” of non-existent Afghan soldiers, police, teachers and civil servants, a top Pentagon official said Wednesday in reporting on the scale and variety of misspent U.S. money.

John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR), said the salaries of “ghost soldiers” is just one of many ways Americans' money is wasted in Afghanistan – all for rather modest gains.

His comments summarize a SIGAR report that aims to help inform the new Congress and administration of the most pressing reconstruction challenges in 2017 and beyond. Sopko’s message was one American leaders have heard before.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I can tell that the Afghan government is losing this war when I read reports like this one .... Afghans push for Taliban 'safe zone' to outflank Pakistan (AFP). More details and analysis here .... Afghan officials call for Taliban ‘safe zone’ (Threat Matrix).

Afghanistan War News Updates -- January 11, 2017

Watchdog warns Trump administration of 'high risk' issues in Afghan reconstruction -- The Hill
SIGAR: ‘High-Risk List’ Shows Continued Erosion in Afghanistan Reconstruction -- Defense News
Two years after NATO steps down, Afghan forces still struggle: US inspector -- AFP
Bombs near government offices in Afghan capital kill 38 -- AP
Dozens killed in twin attacks targeting Afghan intelligence agency -- Stars and Stripes
Kabul And Kandahar Rocked By Taliban Attacks As 50 People Die In Three Blasts -- India Times
Five UAE officials among 57 killed in Afghanistan bombings -- AFP
Afghanistan ‘On The Brink’ Of Ruin As Hundreds Of US Marines Head Back -- Daily Caller
U.S. Ramps Up Airstrikes in Afghanistan -- WSJ
ISIS is suffering setbacks in Syria and Iraq, but they are gaining ground in Afghanistan -- VICE News
New Afghan Taliban video shows US, Australian hostages -- DW
Taliban video claims to show American, Australian captives in tearful pleas to Trump -- Washington Post
Kidnapped professors beg Trump to negotiate release in Taliban video -- The Guardian
Refugees in Afghanistan caught between winter and war -- DW
Afghanistan now a ‘continual emergency’, as war drives record numbers from their homes -- IRIN