The Afghanistan Weekly Reader – April 1, 2011
At the beginning of the week attention shifted from the U.S. mission to protect civilians against atrocities in Libya to the atrocities committed by a platoon of U.S. soldiers against unarmed villagers in southern Afghanistan. While the focus returned to the new war in Libya shortly thereafter, stories describing the bloody stalemate in America’s longest conflict continued to trickle into the news. Commentators from across the political spectrum voiced concern that the military and the budget were being pushed to the breaking point, some also questioned whether the fighting in Libya would cause Afghanistan to once again slip beneath the radar as it had after the invasion of Iraq with consequences that are felt to this day.
In Afghanistan, corruption cases open and close at the whim of the Karzai administration, the line between anti-government insurgent and pro-government militia member continues to blur, and millions of dollars in U.S. aid is going to the Taliban instead of the impoverished communities it is intended to benefit. A growing consensus that a negotiated settlement and de-escalation of the conflict are the only way to end the stalemate in Afghanistan ran headlong into this week’s report that the the White House and the Pentagon remain deadlocked over the July deadline to begin troop withdrawals with a showdown looming. While it is understood that painful concessions will have to be made to end the war in Afghanistan, President Obama’s promise to the American public to start bringing the troops home is one condition he must not compromise on.
Articles
Libya action has GOP rethinking nation-building
3/27/11
Washington Times by Ralph Z. Hallow
“What are we doing in Libya?” Mr. Barbour, a former national party chairman, said last week. “I mean, we have to be careful in my mind about getting into nation-building exercises, whether it’s in Libya or somewhere else. We’ve been in Afghanistan 10 years.” …
“We can save money on defense, and if we Republicans don’t propose saving money on defense, we’ll have no credibility on anything else,” he told an Iowa audience.
The Year at War: The Endgame in Afghanistan
3/26/11
The New York Times by James Dao
“KUNDUZ, Afghanistan — The general arrived late, but in style, bursting into a meeting with American commanders dressed in leather bomber jacket, riding boots and creased corduroys. To his critics, he was a warlord in uniform. But on this February day, he radiated the sly charisma of a congressman on the stump.”
Comedy of Errors in Kabul as Karzai Aide is Arrested, Then Released
3/29/11
The New York Times by Rod Nordland
The release capped a comedy of errors in which the attorney general’s office first announced the arrest of the official, Noorullah Delawari, on corruption charges, then convened a news conference to detail the charges against him. By the time the news conference took place, however, the office’s spokesman, Amanullah Eman, said that the announcement had been a “misunderstanding” and that Mr. Delawari had been questioned rather than charged
Within Obama’s war cabinet, a looming battle over pace of Afghanistan drawdown
3/30/11
The Washington Post by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
“Military leaders and President Obama’s civilian advisers are girding for battle over the size and pace of the planned pullout of U.S. troops from Afghanistan this summer, with the military seeking to limit a reduction in combat forces and the White House pressing for a withdrawal substantial enough to placate a war-weary electorate.”
The Nation: Taking Aim At The Military Budget
3/31/11
PR story on The Nation article by Robert Dreyfuss
“For the first time since the end of the cold war, there’s a real possibility that the post-9/11 fever that sent U.S. military spending shooting upward will break and that the Pentagon’s budget will fall sharply. But it won’t be easy.”
Western aid lines Taliban pockets in Afghanistan
3/31/11
AFP by Emmanuel Duparcq
“As the United States and its Western allies ramp up development in Afghanistan ahead of a planned military withdrawal, a significant proportion of the money spent is going to the very organisation they are here to defeat.”
In Afghan info war, being first trumps being right
3/30/11
Stars and Stripes by Nancy Montgomery
“In the intensive information war that U.S. forces are waging against the Taliban in Helmand province, getting the message out first — before insurgents provide their own version — can trump getting the message out accurately.
Studies done in Afghanistan and the United States have shown that people believe and remember the first reports they hear, not corrected versions, even when clear evidence shows initial reports to be wrong.”
Opinion
Is the U.S. ready to Negotiate with the Taliban?
3/29/11
The Atlantic by Joshua Foust
“Western diplomats, Taliban leaders and the Afghan government,” The New York Times recently explained, “have begun to take a hard look at what it would take to start a negotiation to end the fighting.” The details of what they report — about the demands of both sides, about preconditions for talks to happen, and about necessary outcomes once talks are concluded — are the subject of much discussion in Washington’s foreign policy circles this week, including a major report released by the Century Foundation.”
Afghanistan war, forgotten again?
3/31/11
by Jeffrey Laurenti (Century Foundation)
So you may not have known that, just in the past few days, Taliban fighters had seized a district capital in Afghanistan’s bitterly contested Nuristan province. Or that two former senior officials of the Kabul government had been charged with corruption and embezzlement. Or that Taliban fighters had kidnapped 50 police recruits and sent suicide bombers to kill 24 Afghan civilians. Or that they killed another five Western soldiers, bringing the month’s NATO fatalities to 30.
The Kill Team Scandal: A Symbol of Fundamental Rot in the War in Afghanistan
3/29/11
The Afghanistan Study Group – Will Keola Thomas
Western officials hope that the swift prosecution of the accused soldiers will show the Afghan public that justice will be served and that the U.S. military is doing its part to combat impunity in Afghanistan. However, as was noted on this blog last week, these actions might not be enough to convince the Afghan public of the United States’ good intentions. Despite fears voiced by both NATO officials and members of the Karzai administration, massive protests have not erupted in the wake of the “Kill Team” photos’ publication. The relative quiet of Afghanistan’s streets points toward a tragic loss of faith in the foreign troops risking their lives to provide the Afghan public with security.
