The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has published a lessons learned report entitled Police in Conflict: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan. The 336-page report was published in June 2022.
The American experience of developing police capabilities in Afghanistan provides insight that can be applied to future conflicts. There likely will continue to be conflicts where the United States is assisting in the formation or professionalization of a police force in a country with ongoing counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations. This SIGAR report states that the U.S. government currently has insufficient coordination among agencies that deal with foreign police assistance and does not have a clear doctrine on the role of police in COIN and CT operations.
This SIGAR report examines the role of U.S. and international assistance activities since 2001. It also reviews Afghan policing practices dating back to the late 1800s. The report highlights the difficulties in fighting a heavily armed insurgency while trying to develop indigenous law enforcement and civilian policing capabilities.
Police in Conflict: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan, SIGAR, June 2022, PDF, 336 pages.
https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-22-23-LL.pdf
********
Photo: A police instructor with the UK Royal Military Police teaches Afghan police trainees in policing tactics. (Resolute Support photo by Staff Sgt. Will Craig)