(0)"Afghan troops in the lead ahead of 2014 -- or are they?"
A photo from a slideshow and accompanying story by Carmen Gentile at USA Today: "Afghan troops in the lead ahead of 2014 -- or are they?":
Dick Young helps an Afghan soldier load cases of water into his truck during a mission in the sweltering Afghan summer. The Afghan troops did not bring enough of their own water to last the 30-hour mission. Carmen Gentile for USA TODAY
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In June, Afghan forces officially took over full security responsibilities from the international coalition for the first time since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that drove from power the Taliban, the al-Qaeda-aligned terror group.On paper, that means the 350,000-strong Afghan National Army built from nothing by the coalition is taking the lead on most missions ahead of an announced withdrawal of nearly all coalition combat forces in 2014.
However, as the fighting in Nangarhar shows, the Afghans cannot prevail everywhere without American firepower and know-how at the ready. Afghanistan's military will require "substantial" additional training and foreign financial aid after the American and NATO combat mission ends, the Pentagon told Congress in its semiannual report Tuesday.
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