Because the US military is not on the ground, the US and NATO are heavily reliant on information provided by Ukraine’s government. Privately, officials recognize that Ukraine has an incentive to give only information that will bolster their case for more aid, more arms and more diplomatic assistance.
“It’s a war — everything they do and say publicly is designed to help them win the war. Every public statement is an information operation, every interview, every Zelensky appearance broadcast is an information operation,” said another source familiar with western intelligence. “It doesn’t mean they’re wrong to do it in any way.”
…
For months, US and western officials have offered detailed accounts about what the West knows about the status of Russian forces inside Ukraine: how many casualties they’ve taken, their remaining combat power, their weapons stocks, what kinds of munitions they are using and where. [BS!]
But when it comes to Ukrainian forces, officials acknowledge that the West — including the US — has some information gaps.
Western estimates of Ukrainian casualties are also foggy, according to two sources familiar with US and western intelligence.
…
The risk of a similar scenario happening in Ukraine also exists, the defense official acknowledged. In 2020, the Defense Department inspector general released a report raising concerns about the end-use monitoring of weapons being sent to Ukraine.
But given the nearly insatiable short-term needs of Ukrainian forces for more arms and ammunition, the long-term risk of weapons ending up on the black market or in the wrong hands was deemed acceptable, the official said.

US-trained Afghan intelligence agents, elite troops reported joining ISIS

November 6, 2021October 9, 2024 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Given US imperialism’s record in Afghanistan and the CIA’s intimate connections to the emergence of ISIS, there is every reason to ask whether this bloody campaign is backed by Washington with the aim of destabilizing Afghanistan and preventing the emergence of any regime not under its thumb.

…

A report issued in June by the United Nations cites information that the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), an Islamist separatist group dedicated to carving out a Uyghur state in Xinjiang, China had “established corridors for moving fighters between the Syrian Arab Republic, where the group exists in far larger numbers, and Afghanistan, to reinforce its combat strength” and “facilitate the movement of fighters from Afghanistan to China.” The ETIM has aligned itself with ISIS-K against the Taliban government.

…

US imperialism views Afghanistan through the prism of its declared military strategy centered on “great power” confrontation with China and Russia. Just as US national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski promoted the CIA-orchestrated mujahedeen war of the 1970s and 1980s as a means of giving the Soviet Union its “own Vietnam,” today Washington sees an Afghanistan in chaos undermining Chinese and Russian interests in Central Asia and potentially provoking terrorist campaigns against both countries.

*Xinjiang*

Rapid Taliban advances in Afghanistan have the US military launching strikes to destroy captured artillery and armored vehicles

August 12, 2021August 12, 2021 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

Rapid Taliban advances in Afghanistan have the US military launching strikes to destroy captured artillery and armored vehicles

ICYMI: The Pentagon has quietly established two new Afghanistan-linked offices, including its Defense Security Cooperation Management Office-Afghanistan, and the Over-the-Horizon Counterterrorism Headquarters, both based in Qatar. (Tip of the hat to Dr. Jonathan Schroden, who directs CNA’s Countering Threats and Challenges Program.)
– Defense One

The US isn’t going to leave Afghanistan alone:

China emerges as reliable partner for Afghan development

US Fingerprints on Terrorism Aimed At China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

US-led Information War Targets Southeast Asia (and China)