Afghanistan watchdog warns of increased classification of information

U.S. forces in Afghanistan have begun classifying information previously available to the public, including “important measures” of performance of the Afghan military, according to a new government report.

The previously available information on Afghan security forces now being restricted includes casualties, personnel strength, attrition, capability assessments and equipment readiness, according to a report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

More than 60 percent of the approximately $121 billion in U.S. funding for reconstruction in Afghanistan since 2002 has gone to build up the capabilities of Afghan security forces, the report states. The increased classification of data, “will hinder SIGAR’s ability to publicly report on progress or failure in a key reconstruction sector,” according to the report.

To illustrate the point, SIGAR released nine questions it provided to U.S. forces in Afghanistan whose answers can no longer be provided in a public report, though they were available in previous years.

One of the questions focused on information related to insider attacks against coalition forces, long considered a significant threat to U.S. troops.

Casualty data is specifically being withheld because of a request from the Afghan government, according to U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, the report states.

Other information on the size and operational readiness of Afghan security forces is also being withheld from public view at the request of the Afghan government, according to the report.

“For the first time in eight years, USFOR-A restricted the public release of ANDSF assigned strength figures (the number of personnel actually serving in a force element at a given time) to approximate figures,” the report states.

This is the second time in recent years the U.S. military has sought to classify information about the Afghan military.

“In 2015, NATO-led Resolute Support classified the answers to some 31 SIGAR questions, only to declassify the bulk of them a few days after SIGAR published its January 30, 2015, quarterly report,” according to the report.

The increased classification of data comes as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has more broadly cracked down on the availability of U.S. military information, including the exact number of U.S. troops being deployed to Afghanistan.

The Pentagon has said it is deploying approximately 3,000 more U.S. troops to reinforce the 11,600 already there, but has not provided further specifics.

The lack of detail about the Trump administration’s Afghanistan strategy has frustrated members of Congress.

During an Oct. 3 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said she was concerned the American people cannot make informed decisions about the 16-year conflict in Afghanistan if they are not told the “full extent” of the U.S. commitment there, including the number of troops being deployed. She asked Mattis if he would provide such information. “No, ma'am, if it involves telling the enemy something that will help them,” he said.

Mattis said, however, he would be happy to provide such information during a closed hearing.