Thursday, May 20, 2010  Afghanistan, Oxford Style           1. I
am very pessimistic regarding the capability and future of the
ANP’s ability to police and secure Afghanistan. In two
deployments to Afghanistan, I never had a positive experience
with the rank and file or leadership of the ANP. The problems
are extensive and pervasive across the force and I will only
provide a short summary here based on my experience and study.
The ANP are the most despised, least respected and most visible
arm of the Afghan Government. It’s also perhaps the most
dangerous job in the world. The force is recruited nationally
and most police officers often serve far from home. Ostensibly
done to reduce corruption, this eliminates the “beat cop” local
knowledge advantage and creates ethnic issues by placing Tajiks
in Pashtun areas and vice versa. The pay issues have largely
been addressed, though some challenges remain with pay skimming
by leadership and the logistics of actually paying police at
rural stations. The “Tashkil,