LESSONS ENCOUNTERED

The Surges in Iraq and Afghanistan
Figure 3. Afghan Civilian Casualties, 2009–2013
6,000
5,000
Killed
Wounded
4,000
Casualties
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
An element in the overall adaptation selected in 2009 was the increased
emphasis on professionalizing the Afghanistan security forces and increasing
their capabilities to deal with the Taliban. 167 Increased assistance levels and improved
training resources were made available in the summer of 2010. By the
fall of that year and over the past few years, there has been a measurable and
clear progression in units able to be either independent of coalition assistance
or effective with simply advisors. 168 Table 5 depicts these performance levels
over time. 169
Troop levels, incident rates, and casualties are only a crude measure of inputs
and effort on the security front. As a limited counterinsurgency-based strategy,
other lines of effort must also be assessed. There were dramatic results obtained
in the developmental and economic portions of the strategy, too. The “other war”
was not neglected. 170 A number of nonmilitary achievements include:
n Over 715 kilometers (km) of the Kabul to Kandahar to Herat
Highway were reconstructed, and another nearly 3,000 km of
paved and gravel roads were laid.
n Almost 700 clinics or health facilities were constructed or refurbished,
and over 10,000 health workers were trained with over
$6 million of pharmaceuticals distributed.
129