Afghanistan

After President Obama’s Afghanistan Speech I was asked by U.S. News and World Report blogger Julie Piscittelli what I thought of the speech. I answered, “I think what we heard in the President’s speech are some hard cold facts about the world we live in. I know it is easy for people on both sides to live in the moment of this and look at it purely through political lenses, but we need to be more measured than that. I think that the President found a balanced approach with his plan. He addressed the Afghanistan government, the military surge and Pakistan. As a 25 year retired Colonel, I intend to support our commander in-chief. As a citizen, I will be watching very closely.”

I believe the President hit the three main points for success in Afghanistan. First, the President’s plan addresses the corruption of the Afghanistan Government. Specifically, President Obama said “the days of providing a blank check are over.” He was referring to the billions of American tax payer dollars that are currently being extorted by Afghanistan officials. He sent a clear message to President Karzia to clean up his administration. This can only be done with high level prosecutions and removal of corrupt officials at every level.

The Afghanistan Government is one of the most corrupt governments in the world. They have the reputation of being recognized not as a legitimate government, but as a well financed organized crime syndicate. American tax payer dollars are not going to the Afghan people, they are being deposited in off shore bank accounts. This leads me to the President’s second comment, “And we will also focus our assistance in areas – such as agriculture – that can make an immediate impact in the lives of the Afghan people.”

By using the words “agriculture” and “assistance”, the President is really talking about opium. Eradicating the opium trade is one of the keys to cleaning up the Karzia government and winning the war. Currently the Afghanistan drug lords are operating without fear of prosecution and their profits are directly leading to American casualties. American funding must go to fight the drug trade and provide assistance to farmers. With security, these farmers will need to be taught new farming techniques and slowly be weaned off the opium trade.
The President’s third comment was announcing a deadline. The President basically told the Karzia government they have 18 months to clean up their act or the U.S. will begin cutting off support. The Afghan government officials realize that without U.S. funding and support, their power and lifestyle would not exist very long.

The second point in the President’s success plan is the military surge which is part of the overall counter insurgency strategy. Establishing a credible Afghanistan Security Force is the key to an exit strategy. The U.S. must expand the current force of 95K to 250K in the next 18 months. This will require a portion of the surge to focus on training. This will be very difficult due to the low literacy rates, high drug addiction, and ethnic tension within the Afghan Army. However, one thing is for certain. You cannot make progress in training, education, or infrastructure without negotiating from a position of strength. With security come the conditions for reconciliation. Reconciliation comes when groups realize it is in their advantage to switch sides. The surge will provide the foundation to begin the reconciliation process.

The third and I believe the most important point in President’s Obama plan is Pakistan. In reality, it doesn’t matter how many forces the U.S. sends into Afghanistan if the Taliban and Al Queda are allowed safe havens in Pakistan.
The administration needs to continue to apply pressure to the Pakistani government to continue offensive operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The Taliban and Al Qaeda cannot be given safe havens to reconstitute and plan for operations in Afghanistan. .

The bottom line is the United States and for that part the world cannot fail in Afghanistan. In 2001 we found out the consequences of what can happen if we fail. The upcoming spring and summer offensive operations will be a great indicator of the progress of the strategy.

The President outlined three points for success in Afghanistan. Each point is interdependent on each other. The American people have given the President 18 months to show progress. However, the patience of the American people is wearing thin. As I stated in my quote to U.S. and News Report, I support the President, but I will be watching very closely.