The Times
Jerome Starkey in Kabul

The job description reads like a modern-day blend of Shackleton and the Raj: US officials are looking for “the best, most extroverted and hungriest analysts” to revolutionise the way they foster intelligence on Afghanistan’s volatile frontlines.

In a scathing attack on Nato’s failures, the top US intelligence officer in Afghanistan is demanding urgent changes to the way the military does business.

After the death last week of seven CIA agents in the country, when an al-Qaeda suicide bomber infiltrated their base, Major-General Michael Flynn describes the intelligence apparatus as “ignorant”, “disengaged” and unaware of the power structures it seeks to influence. In a report released by a Washington think-tank, he called for a return of district level experts, reminiscent of Britain’s Raj-era political agents. The work, he said, would be “among the most challenging and rewarding … an analyst could tackle”.

Based in the provinces, with orders to travel in and out of Afghanistan’s most dangerous districts, applicants would endure near constant danger. But, General Flynn insisted: “The stakes are too high … for us to fail. (Read more…)