By: Natalie Johnson
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told Congress on Thursday that the security environment in Afghanistan will worsen over the next year amid a deadlock in the nation’s drawn-out war.
“The intelligence community assesses that the political and security situation in Afghanistan will almost certainly deteriorate through 2018, even with a modest increase in military assistance by the United States and its partners,” Coats told members of the Senate intelligence committee. “Meanwhile, we assess that the Taliban is likely to continue to make gains, especially in rural areas.”
Coats testified the performance of Afghan security forces is expected to decline due to a combination of Taliban operations, combat casualties, desertions, poor logistics support, and weak leadership. He said Baghdad will remain reliant on foreign military aid to prevent a government collapse until it strikes a peace agreement with the Taliban.
Image Sourced : By Tech. Sgt. Efren Lopez, U.S. Air Force.
Read more at : http://freebeacon.com/national-security/top-u-s-intel-official-security-situation-afghanistan-will-certainly-deteriorate/