Obama: Afghanistan success requires allies' help

[FrenchieCat]

WASHINGTON -- The success of President Barack Obama's new war strategy depends heavily on factors beyond his control: Afghan competence, Pakistani cooperation and a greater willingness by Europeans and other allies to adopt the American view that al-Qaida is at the core of the conflict.

Each of those has been missing or, at best, has fallen short despite years of U.S. pushing and prodding.

That is why, after more than seven years of inconclusive combat, hundreds of American deaths, billions in financial aid and incomplete efforts to build self-sustaining Afghan security forces, Obama saw a need Friday to retool strategy, clarify U.S. war aims and seek more help from NATO and other partners.

There are important factors that Obama does control, and these are central to prospects for prevailing. The extra troops he is ordering to Afghanistan in combat and advisory roles can make a difference, as can additional U.S. civilian specialists to help Afghanistan build competence in governing.

But even those U.S. approaches have risks and limitations, as Obama made clear in explaining why he must overcome skepticism in Congress about spending billions of dollars more on State Department and foreign assistance programs.

"Make no mistake, our efforts will fail in Afghanistan and Pakistan if we don't invest in their future," he said.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090328/NEWS02/903280333/0/RSS0904

[FrenchieCat]

1. Russia Ready to Help Afghanistan

Russia hosted a conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional security organization consisting of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Russia has said it is ready to increase co-operation with the NATO military alliance over its war in Afghanistan. On the other hand the calls for a greater regional role came hours before President Barack Obama ordered 4,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan and European Union nations promised to send more police trainers and cash.

Medvedev was quoted as saying "For its part, Russia is ready for active joint steps aimed at normalizing the situation in the country and ensuring its peaceful and creative development".
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/69005/russia-ready-to-help-afghanistan.html

[Webster Green]

3. No more war! No more occupation!

This is getting absurd. Bin Laden has likely been dead for years. It is pointless to have troops in Iraq or Afghanistan, or anywhere else for that matter.

We need real intelligence about terrorist threats, perhaps some surgical strikes, but not thousands upon thousands of troops. It does no good at all. :thumbsdown:

[FrenchieCat]

4. I know.......

I understand,

But it appears that President Obama is gonna handle it slightly differently. After 7 years of no strategy I am mindful that this is not the same approach as the one that we have had.

I'm willing to see what happens here with this. Thus far, the world appears to be willing to assist in getting to an end on this.

[FrenchieCat]

2. Obama Seeking To Capitalize on Popularity in Europe

Washington: US President Barack Obama will make his first trip to Europe next week since taking office, hoping his immense popularity on the continent will provide a fresh start in cross- Atlantic relations.

Obama is due to arrive in London to attend Thursday’s 20-nation summit on the financial crisis, before heading to France and Germany for a NATO summit April 3-4. Later, he’ll stop in Prague for an EU gathering and then Turkey.

By making Europe his first overseas destination, Obama is sending a strong signal of the need for the United States and Europe to work together to tackle the world’s challenges, and repair relations that suffered under George W Bush.

Topping the agenda will be the financial crisis that has dumped the United States into its worst recession in decades and sent the global economy plummeting, followed by the conflict in Afghanistan and a host of other issues, ranging from visa regulations to plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

It remains to be seen whether the affection Europeans hold for the first African American to occupy the White House will translate into success at overcoming differences and building a unified approach to address the world’s problems.

“He’s extremely popular in Europe. That presents an opportunity as well as a challenge,” said Karen Donfried, executive vice president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. “The challenge is, is he able to turn that tremendous popularity into European support for concrete policies?”
http://www.nhatky.in/obama-seeking-to-capitalize-on-popularity-in-europe-12330118

[jody]

5. "requires allies' help"? What -- money, troops, equipment, munitions? Why doesn't some adult present

a strategy and tactics that has a reasonable chance of conquering a group of tribes, the Pashtun, that have defeated every invader for a millennium?

[LakeSamish706]

6. I personally wish the hell he would just "Shut it down now" in Afghanistan! Afghanistan...

is no different than Iraq, in that there is no such thing as a win. If we can somehow help the Afghani's help themselves, that would be great, but more war is not the way.

[FrenchieCat]

8. Perhaps he is, but doing it in an intelligent manner,

as opposed doing everything opposite of what he has been talking about for the last two years.

If he is getting the cooperation of Pakistan and Afghanistan and Europe and Russia, and NATO of course, than I think he can wind this war down much quicker than the "OBama's Vietnam" crowd might anticipate.

Of course, I love peace as much as anyone, but I didn't expect Obama to renig on his promise and simply pull all troops out and call it a day. No one did. Why anyone expects that now is puzzling.

[LakeSamish706]

18. Yeah but shit, he has been President for over 60 days now, what the hell is..

wrong with him? He should have had everything solved by now, don't you think? Why the hell do we still have an economic problem in the world? These things should have been fixed weeks ago.... What the hell is the hold up?

[amborin]

7. "Don't go there, Mr. President"

<http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090413/hayden?rel=hp_picks>

[FrenchieCat]

9. We are there already......

Obama may be pointing to a way out.....

Nothing is as easy as it is written on paper.

[amborin]

10. there

as in escalating things and sending yet more troops (which we're apparently about to do)

[FrenchieCat]

11. You are choosing to view it narrowly,

as there is much more going on than sending yet more troops....

It is convenient not to see the big picture, but it doesn't mean that the bigger picture isn't there.

I understand why you might not agree with the strategy as laid out,
but to make it less broad than what it really is in order to call it wrong
is not speaking the truth.

[jody]

12. You obviously are convinced you understand Obama’s “strategy as laid out” so

please explain it to us so we know what NEW THINGS troops on the ground will be expected to do and what OLD THINGS those troops will stop.

[FrenchieCat]

13. I would prefer that you listen from the those informed about such things.....

not simply me, as I am just a simple cheerleader (or so I've been called repeatedly) posting in a sea of top geniuses who have a 100% money back guaranteed crystal ball in their possession and understand just about everything about everything there is to understand.

do not harm me! :scared:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#29923322 starts at 2:22

[jody]

14. At least you admitted ignorance, now if Obama would do so we might make progress toward getting out

of Afghanistan.

No one has proposed a strategy and supporting tactics that have a consensus of support for conquering the Pashtun tribes that have defeated every invader over the last thousand years or more.

[FrenchieCat]

15. I don't think that defeat is the accurate goal in the sense that you mean it......

and so I'll agree to disagree with you in reference to Obama's ignorance versus yours. I bet on you being the more ignorant one.

[jody]

16. Are you an Obama apologist who believes he's now an expert on all things because he was elected?

Either that or you haven't read any of the discussions among military experts on the best strategy/tactics for Afghanistan.

It's really quite simple, Obama claims to have a new strategy so it's a trivial task to compare Obama's strategy with Bush's strategy and Obama's tactics with Bush's tactics.

The difference allows planners to determine how many more troops and complete logistics package needed for Obama's NEW strategy/tactics.

Without that, military logisticians don't have a clue how to plan to support Obama's NEW strategy/tactics.

[FrenchieCat]

17. I am a DUer who is fucking tired of being called names by those who think they are superior

that's what I am.

As for "Military Experts", I don't see no stinkin' source in your op....just reading you yappin'!

[jody]

20. In #9, you said "Obama may be pointing to a way out" so please tell us what that is. The burden is

on Obama and those who believe he is the "way out" to explain to we mere mortals how he plans to conquer Afghanistan.

Until he does that, he is just blowing smoke and sending more troops to be maimed and killed.

The war in Afghanistan is now Obama's war.

[FrenchieCat]

21. I provided a source in #13......

You just didn't accept it.

Here's another one....(hope I see yours from those military experts you speak of)

Obama Got Afghanistan/Pakistan Right
by Jon SoltzCo-Founder of VoteVets.org,
served as a Captain in Operation Iraqi Freedom

For those of us who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, it was extremely important that the new president get the situation in Afghanistan right. Not just for America's security, but for those troops still in Afghanistan, and those heading to Afghanistan to put their lives on the line in the war. With today's announcement, President Obama has shown that he "gets it." That's why we at VoteVets.org are supporting the plan with a petition, which you can sign on to, right here.

There's a lot to like about the plan. But, there are three key things I'm particularly focused on, that represent a stark departure from the previous administration. They show that this president not only has reasonable goals in the region, but a good idea of what it will take to get there.

Point One: The Military Can't Do It All

The president recognizes that the war against terrorists requires much more than just throwing troops at the problem. That alone will go a long way towards setting policies that make America safer, and taking the burden off our military.

The president said today, "To advance security, opportunity, and justice - not just in Kabul, but from the bottom up in the provinces - we need agricultural specialists and educators; engineers and lawyers.... These investments relieve the burden on our troops. They contribute directly to security. They make the American people safer. And they save us an enormous amount of money in the long run - because it is far cheaper to train a policeman to secure their village or to help a farmer seed a crop, than it is to send our troops to fight tour after tour of duty with no transition to Afghan responsibility."

This is key, and something that was lacking in the region for a long time. Those hardline radicals who want to take control thrive on poverty and misery of the people. The single best thing we can do to ensure that the Afghan people aren't so destitute and broken that they're tempted to join these radicals, is to send civilian training and humanitarian aid.

Point Two: Though it's the "War in Afghanistan," we need to treat it like a region

That the president made a point of including Pakistan in this strategy, offering greater aid to them if the Pakistani government makes more of an effort to work and coordinate with us, is as smart as it is practical.

Everyone - myself included - has not helped when we bind the efforts in the region under the name "The War in Afghanistan." This is a regional problem, that requires a regional solution.

President Obama understands to get the support of the Pakistani people, which will make it easier to get the help we need from the Pakistani government, it takes carrots. And his plan focuses squarely on that. His support for legislation sponsored by Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar that authorizes $1.5 billion in direct support to the Pakistani people every year over the next five years, along with another bill that creates opportunity zones in the border region will go a long way towards getting the cooperation we need to really focus in on al Qaeda, and close in on them from the Pakistani and Afghan sides of the border region.

Point Three: There is a tighter focus, open to reaching out to some of the enemy

Maybe most importantly, this president has given up the pipe dream of setting up a European-style democracy in Afghanistan, and instead has refocused our goals on a more urgent mission - protecting America and the world from terrorism.

We've finally left fantasy-land, where America can simply go somewhere, topple a government, and western-style democracies will pop up and thrive. Afghanistan is a very different beast. And, while the president committed to helping build out infrastructure for the Afghan people, and improve the lives of the Pakistani people, he's not letting dreams of a grand new western democracy get in the way of more practical and tighter goals - namely, fighting al Qaeda and taking the region away as a home base for the terror network, forever.

To do so, the president recognized something that I wrote about last week - there are elements throughout the region that are fighting us now, but could become our partners. This might have been the most striking parts of the President's speech:

"There is an uncompromising core of the Taliban. They must be met with force, and they must be defeated. But there are also those who have taken up arms because of coercion, or simply for a price. These Afghans must have the option to choose a different course. That is why we will work with local leaders, the Afghan government, and international partners to have a reconciliation process in every province. As their ranks dwindle, an enemy that has nothing to offer the Afghan people but terror and repression must be further isolated. And we will continue to support the basic human rights of all Afghans - including women and girls."

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Now, will everything go exactly according to plan? Of course not. Nor is this going to be quick. But with the points above, and the rest that the President laid out, those of us who served finally have confidence that this President gets it, and will keep us on the right course - the reasonable and practical course. That's something we veterans have been waiting for.

Crossposted at VetVoice.com
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8296573

As for your gleeful call on who's war this is....
We all know by now that this is Obama's war!
The Corporate media is ahead of you by weeks on that one!

[jody]

24. That's just policy speak better known as BS. Please cite what differences in

strategy and tactics Commander in Chief Obama will order than did Commander in Chief Bush.

Absent that, troops and voters must conclude Obama will follow the same battle plan ordered by Bush with the same results.

[jeanpalmer]

23. He's getting himself trapped

A waste of more money and lives. He's fooling himself. He should have learned from the Russians, and Alexander the Great. When you're in a hole, quit digging, as Nancy used to say.

[dflprincess]

19. If we can't afford single payer health care

we can't afford to escalate in Afghanistan.

[Peacetrain]

22. We will get no health care period if we do not start pulling together

It is going to be 50 and Joe.. and that means all the Democrats have got to pull in harness