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ICC news June 22, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff

Afghanistan and Ireland have been approved as Full Members by the ICC, meaning they have become cricket's 11th and 12th Test-playing nations. This was signed off on by the ICC Board in London on Thursday, during the ICC's AGM.

Afghanistan and Ireland's boards had applied to the ICC to have their status upgraded from Associates, and this was put to vote at the meeting on Thursday and unanimously supported.

Ireland first gained ODI status in 2005 after finishing runners-up in the ICC Trophy tournament, which they hosted, to gain their first World Cup berth. Two years later they scored a shock upset of Pakistan on St Patrick's Day in Jamaica and they've never looked back, qualifying for two subsequent World Cups in which they defeated England and West Indies to further press their case that they could maintain competitiveness with other Test nations.

"Test cricket is the pinnacle, it's the best. Not being able to play Tests was the reason cited by some players, who weren't able to achieve that career fulfilment with Ireland, as the reason they went to England," Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom said. "That reason is now removed, we can play Tests ourselves. Who can say for certain that players won't leave in the future, but that can't be the reason for it now."

Afghanistan's rise has been even sharper having first gained ODI status in 2009 with a sixth-place finish at that year's World Cup Qualifier in South Africa. It followed three consecutive promotions over the previous year when they began in Division Five of the World Cricket League. Like Ireland, they have demonstrated the talent to stand toe-to-toe with Full Member nations, securing three straight ODI and T20I series wins over Zimbabwe as well as a win over eventual champion West Indies at the 2016 World T20. Most recently they drew their maiden ODI series in West Indies.

"Another day that we can lock in our history and be proud," Shafiq Stanikzai, ACB chief executive, said, adding there was still more work to be done. "Every achievement is great, but it opens the door to challenges. We'll be hosting our international matches in Greater Noida and Sharjah, there should be a day when we can host inside Afghanistan."

The vote is not just an endorsement of each country's respective on-field talents but a seal of approval for efforts made in recent years to build up their domestic structures. In the last three years, both countries have started a multi-day competition with each receiving first-class designation from the ICC in the last year, a harbinger of Thursday's Full Member affirmation.

Since 2005, both countries have demonstrated their readiness for five-day cricket through their dominance in the Intercontinental Cup, the ICC's first-class competition for Associates. Ireland has won four of the last five editions, with Afghanistan interrupting that streak with a victory in the 2010 tournament. The two sides currently sit in the top-two spots in the current edition of the competition, Afghanistan holding a one-point lead after securing an innings victory at Greater Noida over Ireland earlier this year.

Afghanistan have only lost once in the 20 Intercontinental Cup matches they've played, that coming in the 2013 final to Ireland. Ireland's record is just as enviable, with 24 wins, three losses and 10 draws in 37 matches. But they will now be leaving that competition behind at the end of the year, with the door to Test cricket now wide open to them.

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Afghanistan, Ireland get Test status - ESPNcricinfo.com

PENTAGON

The United States military has spilled its blood, spent immense amounts of cash and even dropped a munition called the Mother of All Bombs in an effort to root out Islamic States affiliate in Afghanistan.

But despite these efforts, the Islamic State-Khorasan problem in Afghanistan is not getting better, Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White told VOA Wednesday in her first sit-down, on-camera interview since joining the Pentagon team.

Its not getting better in Afghanistan in terms of ISIS. We have a problem, and we have to defeat them and we have to be focused on that problem, White said.

Watch: Pentagon Says Islamic State Problem 'Not Getting Better' in Afghanistan

U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is still reviewing what his commanders need on the ground in terms of the types of military forces and the number of those forces, according to White.

She added that Mattis intends to speak with his NATO counterparts in Brussels next week before finalizing his military plan, which some officials have said will likely include additional forces for counterterror operations against al-Qaida and ISIS-K.

Its very important to remember that that is within the context of a much broader strategy, and also understanding what are our partners willing to do, White said.

So far, the United States has shouldered responsibility for counterterrorism operations against ISIS-K and al-Qaida, while an international coalition has helped with a separate advise and assist mission to boost Afghan security force capabilities.

U.S. General John Nicholson, the top commander on the ground in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in February that he needs a few thousand more troops to complete his mission of supporting Afghan forces.

He said at the time that he felt he had adequate resources for the counterterror mission, but that was before ISIS-Ks recent expansion into the caves of Tora Bora in Nangahar province and its increase in attacks in northern Afghanistans Jowzjan province.

President Donald Trump authorized Mattis to increase the military presence in Afghanistan earlier this month. The defense secretary has promised lawmakers a new strategy by mid-July.

Three American service members based in eastern Afghanistan were killed in April during operations targeting Islamic State militants, according to the Pentagon.

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Pentagon: Islamic State Problem 'Not Getting Better' in Afghanistan - Voice of America

The Islamic States affiliate in Afghanistan continues to thrive despite several U.S. and Afghan military efforts to annihilate the group, Pentagon Chief Spokeswoman Dana White told Voice of America Wednesday.

ISIS in Afghanistan has morphed from anascent band of militants in 2015 to a full fledged threat in the eastern province of Nangarhar.The group controls a relatively small amount of territory but has used it to launch multiple complex attacks on the capital city of Kabul, killing hundreds withits brutal tactics.

Several U.S. troops have died in Nangarhar province in recent months on missions targeting the terrorist group. The U.S. considered defeat of the insurgentssuch a priority it droppedthe largest non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal on ISISs cave network, killing approximately 100 fighters.

Its not getting better in Afghanistan in terms of ISIS. We have a problem, and we have to defeat them and we have to be focused on that problem, White declared. Whites statement contradicts the Pentagons recent report on the state of war in Afghanistan which claims that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) recent efforts as well as pressure from the Taliban, and a lack of support from the local populace have diminished ISIS-Ks influence and caused it to decline in size, capability, and ability to hold territory.

The report however admits that ISIS in Afghanistan remains a threat to security in Afghanistan and the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and a threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and ISIS-K retains the ability to conduct high-profile attacks in urban centers.

ISIS is just a small facet of the problem facing the U.S. and ANSF in the Afghan war. Taliban insurgents control more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the war began in 2001, and ANSF is suffering historic casualties.

President Donald Trump granted Secretary of Defense James Mattis authority June 13to set troop levels in Afghanistan. Mattis is likely to approve the request of both commanders in charge of the Afghan war, who have publicly testified before Congress that they believe a few thousand more troops are necessary to break the current stalemate.

The U.S. mission in Afghanistan focuses on training, advising, and assisting ANSF in the fight against the Taliban and ISIS. Both the U.S. and Afghan goal is to tire the Taliban and force it reconcile with the government. Mattis stressed before Congress that any troop increase would be paired with a broader regional strategy to bolster the reconciliation effort. The strategy has yet to be unveiled, and it may not come with the expected troop increase announcement.

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'We Have A Problem:' ISIS In Afghanistan 'Not Getting Better' As US Mulls Thousands More Troops - The Daily Caller

After a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, Doc Todd suffered from PTSD. With his new album Combat Medicine, he hopes to show other veterans that they're not alone. ZoomWorks Photography/Courtesy of Doc Todd hide caption

After a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, Doc Todd suffered from PTSD. With his new album Combat Medicine, he hopes to show other veterans that they're not alone.

There is no one sure way to reach combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or substance abuse. But a new hip-hop album called Combat Medicine, released Wednesday, might help. It was written and performed by George "Mik" Todd, who goes by the name Doc Todd. He's a former Fleet Marine Force corpsman essentially a combat medic who served alongside the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan.

Todd's style is tough and direct in a way that only one veteran can be to another. In the song "Not Alone," he urges veterans to take action in their own recovery.

Take those bottles out, dog

and pour 'em in the sink.

Take the needles out of your arm

And the gun away from your forehead.

It's time, man.

You've been through enough pain.

Stand up.

It's time to stand back up.

Todd says the song is about empowerment, "about taking charge of your life, taking charge of your transition" from the combat zone to civilian life.

In his own transition, Doc Todd went through many of the issues other veterans face: shame, isolation, self-abuse. For Todd, it began in 2009 after he was in a large and dangerous battle in Afghanistan. Many of his friends were seriously wounded. His roommate was killed. Todd was medically evacuated to Germany after he fell seriously ill with pneumonia.

"That tore me up so bad, because I felt like I was alienated from the guys I served with," Todd recalls. "I felt like there was an asterisk next to my deployment. I felt like it would've been better if I got shot because that would've been more heroic."

George "Mik" Todd seen here in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in July 2009. He served with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. Courtesy of Doc Todd hide caption

George "Mik" Todd seen here in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in July 2009. He served with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines.

Todd says it took him several years before he got help for his PTSD. He was depressed and started drinking heavily. Eventually, he realized what he needed to be doing was helping other veterans. With savings from his job as a money manager and help from his wife, he was able to quit his job. He'd been making music since he was a teenager. Now, he wanted to use his music to help veterans heal. And he had plenty of material for his lyrics.

The struggle is real

Found a feast

And lost a soul

Eventually my drinking

It got out of control

There in darkness, I roamed

Struggling to find home

See Suddenly death didn't

Feel so Alone

In the video for "Not Alone," a young veteran gets out of bed and immediately reaches for the bottle. That scenario is all too real, says former Marine Zach Ludwig who served with Todd in Afghanistan and is now working through his own PTSD.

"He knows what to say and how to say it," Ludwig says, pointing to Todd's combat experience. "What the man says is just blunt force truth."

Todd says facing the truth, no matter how difficult, can do more to help veterans than "coddling" them. His mission with Combat Medicine is to show vets they're not alone and to urge them to get help.

"We have to be responsible for empowering our own lives. And it doesn't really help when the overwhelming narrative is victimization and brokenness," he says.

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Combat Veteran Fights PTSD Through Hip-Hop : Shots - Health ... - NPR

Afghanistan is at a critical point in its battle against multiple insurgencies and terrorist groups, the Pentagon has said in a new report to Congress. It also reveals that US and Afghan authorities are seeking peace through talks with the Taliban.

Sixteen years after the US-led invasion aimed at overthrowing the Taliban and denying a safe haven to Al-Qaeda the group blamed for 9/11 terrorist attacks Afghanistan is facing a continuing threat from as many as 20 insurgent and terrorist networks, in what the US Department of Defense called the highest concentration of extremist and terrorist groups in the world.

That is one of the assessments in the just-released Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, covering US efforts between December 1, 2016 and May 31 of this year. Thesemi-annual report is required under the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The US and Afghan Governments agree that the best way to ensure lasting peace and security in Afghanistan is through reconciliation and a political settlement with the Taliban, the report says.

While no measure of territorial control is given, the Pentagon says that as of February 2017, the Taliban exercised influence or control over 11 percent of the Afghan population, the government could claim 65 percent, and the rest was contested.

Though the Taliban achieved only limited successes, it presented them as strategic victories through the proficient use of social media and propaganda campaigns.

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The Afghan National Army (ANA) is approximately 20,000 strong under the authorized level of 195,000 troops. It is generally capable of protecting major population centers, preventing the Taliban from maintaining prolonged control of specific areas, and responding to Taliban attacks, the report states.

President Mohammed Ashraf Ghanis government is seeking to double the size of Special Forces in order to take the battle to the enemy, while relying on local militias called the National Uprising Forces to provide security in rural areas.

However, these groups have limited accountability and a disregard for human rights, and they can exacerbate tribal and ethnic tensions if not properly monitored, the Pentagon concluded.

The plan to modify the force structure and develop into a more agile and lethal force is underway, but 2017 is a year of setting conditions to build momentum, the report said.

Afghanistans armed forces are funded primarily through the Pentagons Afghanistan Security Forces Fund (ASFF), which in the fiscal year 2017 amounted to $4.26 billion. President Donald Trumps 2018 budget request would see the funding increased to $4.937 billion. NATO allies have pledged approximately $900 million a year through 2020, while the Afghan government remains committed to spending roughly $500 million a year.

Over $800 million is earmarked for transitioning the Afghan aviation fleet away from Soviet-designed Mi-17 utility helicopters to US-made Blackhawks.

The Afghan Air Force began to operate its own bombers for the first time in 2016, using the Brazilian A-29 Super Tucano turboprop attack planes. There are currently 12 A-29s in service, with another seven scheduled for delivery in 2018.

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The report was more optimistic about the efforts against Al-Qaeda and Islamic States Khorasan group (ISIS-K), which have lost territory and are focusing on survival. At its peak, ISIS-K had a presence in six provinces, but is currently confined to four districts in Nangarhar Province.

Casualty figures paint a grim picture, however. In the six months covered by this report, there were 4,806 effective enemy-initiated attacks or 801 per month, compared to 4,727 or 788 a month in the previous reporting period. Five American soldiers were killed and 36 wounded. There were also 38 attacks on Afghan forces by their own members, known as green-on-green.

NATOs Civilian Casualty Mitigation Team documented more than 3,600 civilian casualties, of which approximately a third were deaths and two thirds were injuries. This was a 32.7 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago. The report also included figures by the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), according to which some 715 civilians were killed and 1,466 were wounded between January and May 2017.

As of May 31, a total of 1,865 US military personnel have been killed in action and 20,272 have been wounded since the US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001.

The US currently has 8,400 troops in the country, conducting both the training, advising and assisting of Afghan security forces and counterterrorism operations against ISIS-K, Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups. The report did not mention a need for additional troops.

The estimated cost of the report was $225,000.

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