President Obama has repeatedly called the US occupation of Afghanistan a "war
of necessity", in contrast to the war of choice his predecessor waged (and of
course is still ongoing) in Iraq.
While I am no mind-reader, I'm not sure the president really still believes
that, or he may want to come up with a different way to describe the situation
in Afghanistan and the region. Certainly there are grave problems in Afghanistan
and in neighboring Pakistan that deserve attention and resources from the US,
other countries in the region and the global community.
Sometime in the
reasonably near future,
President Obama will undoubtedly address the American people on
whatever decision he makes about the war in Afghanistan. Every sign
indicates that he will hew to Washington's political wisdom about what
a war president can do in this country.
Undoubtedly,
the President's speechwriters are already preparing the text for his
Afghan...
WASHINGTON -- The Nobel Peace crown lies uneasy on President Barack Obama's head as he ponders the next U.S. move in Afghanistan, with hints and leaks showering down to tell us that he will eventually send thousands more troops there.
His decision -- which could be announced soon -- was triggered by the request from Gen. Stanley McChrystal for 40,000 more troops to secure the cities and protect the citizens of Afghanistan, in addition to the 68,000 U.S. troops there now.
Dear President Obama,
You are nearing the day of decision as to whether you order the dispatch of more soldiers to Afghanistan.
Some of your advisors have urged up to 50,000 more soldiers, including several thousand called trainers of the Afghan army.
Other advisors have urged more caution, notably the U.S. ambassador to
Afghanistan and former general, Karl W. Eikenberry, who opposes more
soldiers so long as the Afghan government remains grossly dysfunctional.
If President
Obama has ever heard of William L. Shirer, chances are it's in
connection with Nazi Germany. Nowadays, you can't make assumptions
about what people under 50 know and don't know, but it's a safe bet
Obama recalls Shirer's most famous book, "The Rise and Fall of the
Third Reich," even if he hasn't read it.
You don't have to go back 40 years to
the Vietnam War to feel the sting of déjà vu. Returning to the Iraq War
just three years ago will suffice.
Last
week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates summed up the administration's
dilemma on Afghanistan in a single question: "How do we signal resolve
and at the same time signal to the Afghans and the American people that
this is not open-ended?"
It's now a commonplace of the Afghan War.
Kabul, Afghanistan -- Every morning, dozens of trucks laden with
diesel from Turkmenistan lumber out of the northern Afghan border town
of Hairaton on a two-day trek across the Hindu Kush down to
Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.
This week begins with a significant new straw in the political wind for President Obama to consider. The California Democratic Party has just sent him a formal and clear message: Stop making war in Afghanistan.
Overwhelmingly approved on Sunday by the California Democratic Party's 300-member statewide executive board, the resolution is titled "End the U.S. Occupation and Air War in Afghanistan."
Or should we call it "Again-istan?"
Some people never learn.
The arrogance of empire? Ignorance of history? Political opportunism?
Or cowardice to confront the global challenges we face?
These
factors probably all contribute to the current incredible situation, in
which the United States is debating whether to escalate its military
presence there or maintain a lower-level intensity, relying on
mechanical warfare in order to focus the war instead in Pakistan.
Neither option makes any sense.
