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Four Corners: Mar 25

BBC reporter Ben Anderson investigates how ill-equipped Afghan forces will be once the allies pull out of Afghanistan.

2013-03-22_0116On Monday Four Corners screens “Mission Accomplished” by BBC Panorama reporter Ben Anderson who investigates how ill-equipped Afghan forces will be once the allies pull out of Afghanistan by 2014.

Once again, you can already see this episode on YouTube before it airs on ABC1.

The plan was simple enough. Drive out Al-Qaeda, install a democratic system of government in Afghanistan, then train police and a military force to protect the country. But when soldiers from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) pull out of Afghanistan in 2014, will the country’s security forces be up to the task of maintaining law and order?

A growing body of evidence says they won’t, raising another unpleasant question: what have soldiers from Australia, the US and Britain, along with many other nations, given their lives for?

In a remarkable documentary shot on the frontline, BBC reporter Ben Anderson joins ISAF troops as they prepare to hand over to Afghan forces next year. What he finds is startling and deeply concerning.

Embedded with US soldiers in Helmand Province, he finds the Afghan Army and police force – who will take over when the British and Americans leave – poorly trained and lacking the resources needed to fight the Taliban.

He also discovers that in many cases they do not take their training seriously, some using drugs even when the enemy is close by. At the same time, the police and military show limited benefit from their training. Faced with evidence of insurgent activity, the Afghans immediately open fire, showing little concern for civilians caught in the fire zone.

As the film crew spends more time with the Afghan security forces they discover evidence that the police themselves are committing horrendous crimes under the noses of Allied forces.

Monday 25th March at 8.30pm on ABC1.

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