Analysis: Obama unlikely to widen Afghan war

[unhappycamper]

Analysis: Obama unlikely to widen Afghan war
By Anne Gearan - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Jan 31, 2009 12:26:00 EST

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to redirect U.S. troops and resources to Afghanistan from Iraq, but he has done little so far to suggest he will significantly widen the grinding war with insurgents in Afghanistan.

On the contrary, Obama appears likely to streamline the U.S. focus with an eye to the worsening economy and the cautionary example of the Iraq war that sapped political support for President George W. Bush.

“There’s not simply a military solution to that problem,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said last week, and Obama thinks “that only through long-term and sustainable development can we ever hope to turn around what’s going on there.”

Less than two weeks into the new administration, Obama has had little to say in public about what his top military adviser says is the largest challenge facing the armed forces. He did say Afghanistan and Pakistan are the central front in the struggle against terrorism, a clue to the likely shift toward a targeted counterterrorism strategy.

After Obama’s first visit to the Pentagon as president, a senior defense official said the new president surveyed top uniformed officers about the strain of fighting two wars and warned that the economic crisis will limit U.S. responses. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama’s meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff was private.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_obama_afghanistan_013109/%2e

[MADem]

1. ....likely shift toward a targeted counterterrorism strategy.

It will be small unit counterinsurgency and "hearts and minds" technique; and the Afghan army, such as it is, is going to be the public face on the venture...like it or not.

Senior Defense Official = Someone on the JCS.