The Pentagon reversed itself, admitting it erred in ordering a stop to information about the war in Afghanistan that would measure the effectiveness of U.S. efforts. The military blamed human error for the problem and revealed that 44 percent of the country is either being contested or under Taliban control. (Associated Press, January 30, 2018, by Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor)
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction reported earlier in the week that the Pentagon had told them not to release unclassified information about how much territory was under Taliban control. For the first time since 2009, the Pentagon also classified U.S. troop numbers and the attrition rate for the Afghan army. (Reuters, January 29, 2018, by Idrees Ali)