New York Times reporter Matthew Rosenberg, who broke the story in the press on Thursday, explained, “until this month the American-led coalition regularly shared details on how the money was being put to use and on the Afghan forces’ progress.”
However, this information has been suddenly declared off-limits, meaning that over 100 critical aspects of U.S. policy in Afghanistan are shielded from public disclosure. These include:
- How much money the U.S. spends on weapons and equipment for the Afghan National Army.
- The total dollars the U.S. spends on salaries for Afghan national police.
- The number of active Afghan military and police personnel.
- Full details about U.S. training programs for Afghan forces.
A report released this week by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko states, “The classification of this volume of data for SIGAR’s quarterly report is unprecedented.”
“The decision leaves SIGAR for the first time in six years unable to publicly report on most of the U.S.-taxpayer-funded efforts to build, train, equip, and sustain the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces),” the report continues.
Addressing the Inspector General, Gen. John F. Campbell, the U.S. commander of coalition forces, claimed that classification is necessary to “protect the lives of those individuals who could be put at risk by the release of sensitive information.”
But Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy, pointed out, “The General did not explain how budget and contracting information, among other routine data, could be used to sharpen attacks against allied forces.”
“For years, this kind of information has been available,” Aftergood told Frontline. “It’s not just a particular fact or figure that’s being classified, but whole categories of previously public information. That is both stunning and disturbing.”
Others drew their own conclusions: