Editorial Team: Though there have already been 15 NATO casualties in January 2010, the outlook on the ground is improving. According to a recent poll conducted by BBC and its affiliates throughout Afghanistan, support for foreign troops is on the rise; and the number of Taliban supporters has drastically fallen. Is the ISAF mission moving in the right direction?
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Memo 9: Afghanistan needs a continued international commitment to ensure its security and assist in economic and social development. The US, EU and Germany must focus on training local authorities. Cooperating with Iran and the Taliban remains a point of debate.
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Last week’s London conference has reached two major consensuses: there needs to be a 5 year plan to shift security responsibilities to the Afghan people and Taliban members need to be lured out their ranks and into the mainstream. ++ The summit exposed a number of contradictions between goals and strategy, namely between the US troop surge and political reconciliation with the Taliban. ++
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After the surge, there will be as many troops in Afghanistan as there are in Iraq. ++ Obama’s new strategy is nothing more than the obvious result of a war by committee. ++ Unconventional wars are won by earning and keeping the loyalty of civilians. ++ Furthermore, between entrance and exit lies only a half-hearted anti-guerilla campaign. ++ The hope is to realize the same success in
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The planned surge of American troops will have tragic consequences for the people of Afghanistan. ++ After eight years of war, the situation on the ground is dismal for the poor, and especially for women. ++ The people are “squashed between two enemies”: the US/NATO troops and the warlords of the Taliban, but there is an alternative. ++ Allow the country some peace and the people will fight the
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Terrorism is not the key strategic threat facing the US and Obama’s focus on Afghanistan is misguided. ++ NATO’s overemphasis in 2005 destroyed the stable situation of 2004 and the more focus Afghanistan gets now, the harder it will fall after an inevitable withdrawal. ++ Troop increases distract attention from other pressing issues: monetary aid is wasteful and counterproductive,
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