The United States has set a goal to train four lakh personnel by 2013 in Afghanistan, of which 240,000 would be for Afghan National Army and 160,000 Afghan National Police.
Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, General Steanley McChrystal, the commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said by July 2011 he expected the combined strength of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police to be around 300,000.
"I believe that we need to significantly increase the Afghan national security forces.
I recommend that we stay on a very aggressive timeline to try to reach that, but adjust those goals on two things: One, if the insurgency size decreases, it might be able to be adjusted, and also the ability of the Afghan government to provide recruits, retention and those things, which enable the growth," McChrystal said.
Top US military and diplomatic leaders along with the US lawmakers during a two Congressional hearings at the US Capitol felt the need to make it a top priority to strengthen and increase the size of the Afghan national security forces which is capable enough to transition security responsibilities from the American forces beginning July 2011, a date set by US President Barack Obama last week.
"There is not yet enough Afghan National Armour or Afghan National Police," McChrystal said, adding that there are not yet an Afghan National Army to meet everyone's requirements.
"There is still a need, in my opinion, for a very credible Afghan National Army, because it helps bind the nation together," he said.
McChrystal said the main focus of the coalition element strategy has recently been in the South.
"In the Helmand area, it was about one Afghan security force participant to five coalitions. That's now one to 3.6. By the end of January, we'll have it one to 2.3," he said.
McChrystal said together the Afghan national security forces are just about 190,000 people assigned or on the rolls right now.
"The Afghan national army is significantly ahead -- in terms of professionalization, capacity -- than the Afghan national police, because we started earlier.
We started in 2002. At the battalion and company level, they fight pretty well. Organisationally there is much development to do," he said.
However, the Afghan national police have much further to go.
"The percentage of policemen who have actually received formal training is fairly low. We are increasing our partnership and our focus on them. But we are starting at a much lower level," he said.
"There must be an Afghan national army and police with a strong neighbourhood fabric that is part local security and part just governance, neighbourhood watch and trust for each other," he said.
