Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon

The Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan will intensify following the drawdown of U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan later this year, according to a Pentagon-sponsored independent study.

“We conclude that the security environment in Afghanistan will become more challenging after the drawdown of most international forces in 2014, and that the Taliban insurgency will become a greater threat to Afghanistan’s stability in the 2015 to 2018 timeframe than it is now,” the report by a panel of experts concluded.

The report was required under the 2013 defense authorization act that called for an independent study on the future of security in Afghanistan. The Pentagon contracted with CNA, a federally funded research center, for the study that was carried out by a panel of experts, including four retired generals and several former defense and national security officials. …

“The coalition’s drawdown will result in a considerable reduction in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations by Afghan, U.S., and NATO forces,” the report said.

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  Background-Brief.com, Report: Taliban will present ‘greater threat’ after U.S. troop drawdown