Since January 2016 it had published data on the number of governing districts controlled by Kabul, the number controlled by the Taliban, and the number that are contested. John F. Sopko, head of the auditing organization, expressed disappointment that the Pentagon had forbidden release of the data on relative control of the governing districts. In response, the Pentagon said the U.S.-led coalition of NATO and allied nations in Afghanistan made the decision to restrict the public release of the information. He said that similar information was included in the department’s December 2017 semi-annual report to Congress, and the Pentagon encouraged SIGAR to use that data. In November, Gen. John Nicholson described the Afghan government control during remarks to reporters at the Pentagon.

Source: National Post January 30, 2018 05:03 UTC