US Wars: People vs Generals
While the Obama administration continues to affirm its intention to
withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the US' military presence
in the Muslim world is actually expanding and this is exacerbating
tensions and inflaming animosities.
Barack Obama's promise to
open a new page with the Muslim world on the basis of mutual respect and
interests -- supplemented and enforced by the use of soft rather
than hard power -- now rings hollow.
While the Obama administration continues to affirm its intention to
withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the US' military presence
in the Muslim world is actually expanding and this is exacerbating
tensions and inflaming animosities.
Barack Obama's promise to
open a new page with the Muslim world on the basis of mutual respect and
interests -- supplemented and enforced by the use of soft rather
than hard power -- now rings hollow.
This is most evident in the
withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq and the corresponding surge in
Afghanistan -- an exercise in redeploying military forces, not extracting
them.
As the gap between words and deeds; declarations and
policies; public diplomacy and military strategy deepens, so the
political and strategic crisis facing the Obama administration continues
to deepen.
Enduring presence
There are
now more than 140,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan -- from the 100,000
Americans to the three Austrians -- in an estimated 400 bases.
But,
almost a decade after it invaded and a year after the adoption of a new
AfPak strategy, the escalation of fighting there serves to underline
the failure of the US to implement an effective counter-insurgency
strategy.
The complete military and political failure in
places such as Marjah, in Helmand province -- which was presented as a
prototype for future operations -- has further complicated the military mission in the country.
But
Robert Gates, the US secretary of defence, Admiral Mike Mullen, the
chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and General David Petraeus, the
commander of US forces in Afghanistan, have been unequivocal in
insisting that their priority is to 'get the job done' -- which places a
big question mark over previous presidential commitments to draw troops
down by the end of next year.
The US generals are adamant and are lobbying their Nato allies to also expand their presence in the country.
And in Iraq ...
US and Iraqi generals
question the wisdom of a total US troop withdrawal by the end of next
year, with some like Lieutenant-General Babaker Zebari, going as far as
to speak of another decade of US deployment in the country.
Moreover,
the US state department's decision to hire and deploy a private army of
some 7,000 additional mercenaries in Iraq -- to add to the estimated
200,000 private contractors already deployed there and in Afghanistan,
is further militarising its diplomatic presence in the region.
As of next month, there will still be some 50,000 US soldiers in more than 100 military bases in Iraq.
As former US Colonel Andrew Bacevich, the author of an insightful new book called Washington Rules
and whose son was killed in Iraq, told EMPIRE: If it looks and sounds
like an occupation, the US presence in Iraq will still be just that.
The political paralysis in the country and recent escalation of violence aren't making matters any easier.
The wider region
A
new report show that the Obama administration is intensifying its
secret war and covert operations in the Muslim world, including
assassinations through the use of drones.
Much of this is being executed by the CIA, turning the intelligence agency into, in the words of The New York Times, a "paramilitary organisation".
Other
covert operations are being carried out by unaccountable private
contractors who are complicating US missions and rules of engagement.
Although
the covert operations are defended as less costly in terms of
"collateral damage" or human losses, their use comes in addition to, not
instead of, military operations -- or, in the words of the
'terrorismologists', using the "scalpel" in addition to, not instead of,
the "hammer".
According to the report, the CIA's operations
have been expanded in Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Somalia,
Sudan, Kenya, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Yemen.
US military
attacks in Pakistan and Yemen have led some to warn that, just as George
Bush got America stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama might get the US
trapped in these two complex countries.
At a crossroads
Unfortunately,
despite its continuous and costly military fiascos, Washington persists
in using military power to impose its political will, resulting in
terrible human and political losses.
The US fiasco in Iraq and
Afghanistan has exposed the limits of the superpower's military capacity
to win wars, let alone hearts and minds, in faraway lands. Instead,
Western wars in Eastern lands have spread chaos and exposed its
weaknesses.
And yet, in addition to hundreds of military bases in Iraq and
Afghanistan, the US military continues to deploy its forces in more than
100,000 structures in over 700 bases in more than 100 countries around
the world.
Indeed, for decades Washington has further redeployed, not withdrawn, its forces from the world.
Since the end of the World War II, and over the last six decades, the US fought three major wars -- Korea, Vietnam and Iraq.
It
is still deployed heavily between the Koreas, lost Vietnam and remains
an occupying power in Iraq two decades after it first attacked in 1991
and seven years after it invaded in 2003.
Some reckon Obama, a liberal who never served in the military, is worried about being seen as a wimp.
Others lament that he has been out-manoeuvred by powerful forces in Washington, including the Pentagon and its generals.
And yet others remain hopeful that he will prevail and eventually downsize the US military presence overseas.
Consider me a realist, but I doubt the empire will be downsized any time soon.
However,
the good news is that the majority of Americans today -- like the
absolute majority of the Greater Middle East -- would like to see the US
mind its own business and stop interfering militarily around the world.
Call
me an idealist, but I think in a democracy, it is the people and their
political representatives that have the last word, not the generals.
I
guess a "readealist" (realist/idealist) reading of the US empire shows
it's better to keep your expectations of its generals low, and your
hopes regarding the people high.
This episode of Empire can be seen from Wednesday, August 25, at the following times GMT: Wednesday: 1900; Thursday: 0300, 1400; Friday: 0600; Saturday: 1900; Sunday: 0300.
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While the Obama administration continues to affirm its intention to
withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the US' military presence
in the Muslim world is actually expanding and this is exacerbating
tensions and inflaming animosities.
Barack Obama's promise to
open a new page with the Muslim world on the basis of mutual respect and
interests -- supplemented and enforced by the use of soft rather
than hard power -- now rings hollow.
This is most evident in the
withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq and the corresponding surge in
Afghanistan -- an exercise in redeploying military forces, not extracting
them.
As the gap between words and deeds; declarations and
policies; public diplomacy and military strategy deepens, so the
political and strategic crisis facing the Obama administration continues
to deepen.
Enduring presence
There are
now more than 140,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan -- from the 100,000
Americans to the three Austrians -- in an estimated 400 bases.
But,
almost a decade after it invaded and a year after the adoption of a new
AfPak strategy, the escalation of fighting there serves to underline
the failure of the US to implement an effective counter-insurgency
strategy.
The complete military and political failure in
places such as Marjah, in Helmand province -- which was presented as a
prototype for future operations -- has further complicated the military mission in the country.
But
Robert Gates, the US secretary of defence, Admiral Mike Mullen, the
chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and General David Petraeus, the
commander of US forces in Afghanistan, have been unequivocal in
insisting that their priority is to 'get the job done' -- which places a
big question mark over previous presidential commitments to draw troops
down by the end of next year.
The US generals are adamant and are lobbying their Nato allies to also expand their presence in the country.
And in Iraq ...
US and Iraqi generals
question the wisdom of a total US troop withdrawal by the end of next
year, with some like Lieutenant-General Babaker Zebari, going as far as
to speak of another decade of US deployment in the country.
Moreover,
the US state department's decision to hire and deploy a private army of
some 7,000 additional mercenaries in Iraq -- to add to the estimated
200,000 private contractors already deployed there and in Afghanistan,
is further militarising its diplomatic presence in the region.
As of next month, there will still be some 50,000 US soldiers in more than 100 military bases in Iraq.
As former US Colonel Andrew Bacevich, the author of an insightful new book called Washington Rules
and whose son was killed in Iraq, told EMPIRE: If it looks and sounds
like an occupation, the US presence in Iraq will still be just that.
The political paralysis in the country and recent escalation of violence aren't making matters any easier.
The wider region
A
new report show that the Obama administration is intensifying its
secret war and covert operations in the Muslim world, including
assassinations through the use of drones.
Much of this is being executed by the CIA, turning the intelligence agency into, in the words of The New York Times, a "paramilitary organisation".
Other
covert operations are being carried out by unaccountable private
contractors who are complicating US missions and rules of engagement.
Although
the covert operations are defended as less costly in terms of
"collateral damage" or human losses, their use comes in addition to, not
instead of, military operations -- or, in the words of the
'terrorismologists', using the "scalpel" in addition to, not instead of,
the "hammer".
According to the report, the CIA's operations
have been expanded in Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Somalia,
Sudan, Kenya, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Yemen.
US military
attacks in Pakistan and Yemen have led some to warn that, just as George
Bush got America stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama might get the US
trapped in these two complex countries.
At a crossroads
Unfortunately,
despite its continuous and costly military fiascos, Washington persists
in using military power to impose its political will, resulting in
terrible human and political losses.
The US fiasco in Iraq and
Afghanistan has exposed the limits of the superpower's military capacity
to win wars, let alone hearts and minds, in faraway lands. Instead,
Western wars in Eastern lands have spread chaos and exposed its
weaknesses.
And yet, in addition to hundreds of military bases in Iraq and
Afghanistan, the US military continues to deploy its forces in more than
100,000 structures in over 700 bases in more than 100 countries around
the world.
Indeed, for decades Washington has further redeployed, not withdrawn, its forces from the world.
Since the end of the World War II, and over the last six decades, the US fought three major wars -- Korea, Vietnam and Iraq.
It
is still deployed heavily between the Koreas, lost Vietnam and remains
an occupying power in Iraq two decades after it first attacked in 1991
and seven years after it invaded in 2003.
Some reckon Obama, a liberal who never served in the military, is worried about being seen as a wimp.
Others lament that he has been out-manoeuvred by powerful forces in Washington, including the Pentagon and its generals.
And yet others remain hopeful that he will prevail and eventually downsize the US military presence overseas.
Consider me a realist, but I doubt the empire will be downsized any time soon.
However,
the good news is that the majority of Americans today -- like the
absolute majority of the Greater Middle East -- would like to see the US
mind its own business and stop interfering militarily around the world.
Call
me an idealist, but I think in a democracy, it is the people and their
political representatives that have the last word, not the generals.
I
guess a "readealist" (realist/idealist) reading of the US empire shows
it's better to keep your expectations of its generals low, and your
hopes regarding the people high.
This episode of Empire can be seen from Wednesday, August 25, at the following times GMT: Wednesday: 1900; Thursday: 0300, 1400; Friday: 0600; Saturday: 1900; Sunday: 0300.
While the Obama administration continues to affirm its intention to
withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the US' military presence
in the Muslim world is actually expanding and this is exacerbating
tensions and inflaming animosities.
Barack Obama's promise to
open a new page with the Muslim world on the basis of mutual respect and
interests -- supplemented and enforced by the use of soft rather
than hard power -- now rings hollow.
This is most evident in the
withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq and the corresponding surge in
Afghanistan -- an exercise in redeploying military forces, not extracting
them.
As the gap between words and deeds; declarations and
policies; public diplomacy and military strategy deepens, so the
political and strategic crisis facing the Obama administration continues
to deepen.
Enduring presence
There are
now more than 140,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan -- from the 100,000
Americans to the three Austrians -- in an estimated 400 bases.
But,
almost a decade after it invaded and a year after the adoption of a new
AfPak strategy, the escalation of fighting there serves to underline
the failure of the US to implement an effective counter-insurgency
strategy.
The complete military and political failure in
places such as Marjah, in Helmand province -- which was presented as a
prototype for future operations -- has further complicated the military mission in the country.
But
Robert Gates, the US secretary of defence, Admiral Mike Mullen, the
chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and General David Petraeus, the
commander of US forces in Afghanistan, have been unequivocal in
insisting that their priority is to 'get the job done' -- which places a
big question mark over previous presidential commitments to draw troops
down by the end of next year.
The US generals are adamant and are lobbying their Nato allies to also expand their presence in the country.
And in Iraq ...
US and Iraqi generals
question the wisdom of a total US troop withdrawal by the end of next
year, with some like Lieutenant-General Babaker Zebari, going as far as
to speak of another decade of US deployment in the country.
Moreover,
the US state department's decision to hire and deploy a private army of
some 7,000 additional mercenaries in Iraq -- to add to the estimated
200,000 private contractors already deployed there and in Afghanistan,
is further militarising its diplomatic presence in the region.
As of next month, there will still be some 50,000 US soldiers in more than 100 military bases in Iraq.
As former US Colonel Andrew Bacevich, the author of an insightful new book called Washington Rules
and whose son was killed in Iraq, told EMPIRE: If it looks and sounds
like an occupation, the US presence in Iraq will still be just that.
The political paralysis in the country and recent escalation of violence aren't making matters any easier.
The wider region
A
new report show that the Obama administration is intensifying its
secret war and covert operations in the Muslim world, including
assassinations through the use of drones.
Much of this is being executed by the CIA, turning the intelligence agency into, in the words of The New York Times, a "paramilitary organisation".
Other
covert operations are being carried out by unaccountable private
contractors who are complicating US missions and rules of engagement.
Although
the covert operations are defended as less costly in terms of
"collateral damage" or human losses, their use comes in addition to, not
instead of, military operations -- or, in the words of the
'terrorismologists', using the "scalpel" in addition to, not instead of,
the "hammer".
According to the report, the CIA's operations
have been expanded in Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Somalia,
Sudan, Kenya, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Yemen.
US military
attacks in Pakistan and Yemen have led some to warn that, just as George
Bush got America stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama might get the US
trapped in these two complex countries.
At a crossroads
Unfortunately,
despite its continuous and costly military fiascos, Washington persists
in using military power to impose its political will, resulting in
terrible human and political losses.
The US fiasco in Iraq and
Afghanistan has exposed the limits of the superpower's military capacity
to win wars, let alone hearts and minds, in faraway lands. Instead,
Western wars in Eastern lands have spread chaos and exposed its
weaknesses.
And yet, in addition to hundreds of military bases in Iraq and
Afghanistan, the US military continues to deploy its forces in more than
100,000 structures in over 700 bases in more than 100 countries around
the world.
Indeed, for decades Washington has further redeployed, not withdrawn, its forces from the world.
Since the end of the World War II, and over the last six decades, the US fought three major wars -- Korea, Vietnam and Iraq.
It
is still deployed heavily between the Koreas, lost Vietnam and remains
an occupying power in Iraq two decades after it first attacked in 1991
and seven years after it invaded in 2003.
Some reckon Obama, a liberal who never served in the military, is worried about being seen as a wimp.
Others lament that he has been out-manoeuvred by powerful forces in Washington, including the Pentagon and its generals.
And yet others remain hopeful that he will prevail and eventually downsize the US military presence overseas.
Consider me a realist, but I doubt the empire will be downsized any time soon.
However,
the good news is that the majority of Americans today -- like the
absolute majority of the Greater Middle East -- would like to see the US
mind its own business and stop interfering militarily around the world.
Call
me an idealist, but I think in a democracy, it is the people and their
political representatives that have the last word, not the generals.
I
guess a "readealist" (realist/idealist) reading of the US empire shows
it's better to keep your expectations of its generals low, and your
hopes regarding the people high.
This episode of Empire can be seen from Wednesday, August 25, at the following times GMT: Wednesday: 1900; Thursday: 0300, 1400; Friday: 0600; Saturday: 1900; Sunday: 0300.