As of 30 June 2020, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) or Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) were composed of the Afghan National Army (including the Afghan Border Force, Afghan Air Force, Afghan Territorial Army, Afghan National Civil Order Force), Afghan National Police (including Afghan Local Police), and the National Directorate of Security (including the Afghan Special Force).[2]
In August 2021, after the Taliban captured the Afghan capital Kabul and other major cities, US President Joe Biden said that the forces collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight and that they were not willing to fight for themselves, with the exception of very brave and capable Afghan special forces units and soldiers.[3][4] In an Al Jazeera editorial Abdul Basit wrote that the forces "preferred to save their lives by surrendering to the Taliban under its amnesty offers".[5]
Afghan National Army (ANA):[7] In December 2020 the U.S. Department of Defense wrote that the ANA General Staff commanded and controlled all of Afghanistan’s ground and air forces, including "the ANA conventional forces, the Afghan Air Force (AAF), the Special Mission Wing (SMW), the ANA Special Operations Command (ANASOC), the Afghan National Civil Order Force (ANCOF), and the Afghan Border Force (ABF). In total, the ANA consisted of 27 combat brigades, three combat air wings, four branch and basic training schools, seven ANCOF brigades, seven ABF brigades, and additional support facilities such as depots and hospitals."[8]
NATOspecial operations forces trained, advised and assisted the ANASOC, SMW and GCPSU who were collectively known as the Afghan Special Security Forces (ASSF).[18][19][20] The ASSF was described as the "ANDSF’s primary offensive forces".[20]
