The Afghanistan Weekly Reader, May 13, 2011: The Courage of Dissenters
This week it seems U.S. policy in Afghanistan may be on the verge of turning-a-corner and shifting-momentum in a way that has yet to be seen in this decade long war. Why are we now seeing this course correction? Because the Pentagon spin masters are losing their ability to delude Congress with claims of victory just around the corner. Instead, members of Congress have finally decided to question Pentagon press releases and challenge their party leadership in an effort to change the country’s self-destructive course and gather momentum for bringing the troops home.
Congress’ spine was apparently stiffened by the death of Osama bin Laden and a growing number of questions about Pakistan’s support for the insurgency in Afghanistan. An insurgency that is killing and wounding American soldiers, and Afghan civilians, at a record rate even as the U.S. sends Islamabad billions in aid. Each week it becomes clearer that the war in Afghanistan limits, rather than leverages, American power and influence. The U.S. cannot stabilize Afghanistan if Pakistan doesn’t end its support for the Taliban. And yet, the United States can’t put its full weight behind modifying Pakistan’s behavior so long as the 110,000 American troops in Afghanistan are dependent on Pakistan’s supply routes. The new calls for a drawdown coming from members of both parties should be taken as a hopeful sign that support is growing for a strategy in Afghanistan that doesn’t involve the U.S. shooting itself in the foot.
ARTICLES
5-8-11
Strain on U.S. forces in Afghanistan at a five-year high
Stars and Stripes
U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan are experiencing some of the greatest psychological stress and lowest morale in five years of fighting, reports a military study according to USA Today.
5-9-11
Bipartisan House group to Obama: Pull troops from Afghanistan now
The Hill by Mike Lillis
Congressional calls for a quick end to military operations in Afghanistan grew louder Monday when a bipartisan group in the House urged President Obama to immediately withdraw U.S. troops.
5-10-11
Bob Corker: U.S. Military Leaders Frustrated With War In Afghanistan
Huffington Post by Amanda Terkle
WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) believes that the discovery and killing of Osama bin Laden in Abottabad, Pakistan has provided the United States with a “relationship-changing opportunity” to reassess its dealings with Pakistan and perhaps Afghanistan.
Strike Gives Obama Some Leeway on War Strategy
The Wall Street Journal by Gerald F. Seib
Rep. Jason Chaffetz is no fan of the American military operation in Afghanistan. In fact, he was one of only nine Republicans in the House who voted last year to curtail funding for the Afghan war effort. So, as you would expect, the conservative Utah lawmaker is arguing that the killing of Osama bin Laden a week should hasten the departure of American troops from Afghanistan, now that the terror leader who prompted the incursion in the first place is gone. In fact, he co-signed a letter to the White House Monday urging an end to the “formal” Afghan war.
Afghan police committing crimes with impunity, warns Oxfam
The Telgraph by Thomas Harding
The charity has warned that unless the international community acts immediately the country will not be secure enough to hand over to Afghan forces in 2014.
In Afghanistan, U.S. contracts aren’t crystal balls, but they come close
Washington Post by Walter Pincus
Want to know what the United States is planning to do in a post-bin Laden Afghanistan? One way to get a clue is by checking out government contracts. Over the past six years U.S. contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan have provided a guide to activity on the ground.
Poll: With bin Laden dead, is it time to end war?
USA Today by Susan Page
WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden’s demise may have shifted not only the military prospects for al-Qaeda abroad, but also the political landscape for President Obama at home.
5-13-11
War fatigue in House GOP
Politico by Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan
A newfound restlessness about the decadelong war in Afghanistan has reached the highest levels of the House Republican leadership, sparking serious concerns about war funding and murmurs about troop withdrawal — a sign that the GOP may be undergoing a shift in thinking about overseas intervention.
OPINION
5-6-11
Our Strange Dance With Pakistan
The New York Review of Books by Elizabeth Rubin
We give billions in aid to Pakistan’s military and civilian government. Yet Pakistan is harboring our enemies and even the enemies, one could argue, of its own healthy survival. Portions of our money are being funneled into the variety of insurgent networks whose fighters are killing American soldiers, Afghan soldiers, American civilians, Afghan civilians, European civilians, Pakistani civilians—mothers, fathers, children on multiple continents.
5-9-11
Mission Accomplished
The Wall Street Journal by Leslie Gelb
Afghanistan is no longer a war about vital American security interests. It is about the failure of America’s political elites to face two plain facts: The al Qaeda terrorist threat is no longer centered in that ancient battleground, and the battle against the Taliban is mainly for Afghans themselves.
5-11-11
Bin Laden’s Death Won’t End His Toll on American Taxpayers
The San Francisco Chronical in with Bloomberg
The U.S. government spent $2 trillion combating bin Laden over the past decade, more than 20 percent of the nation’s $9.68 trillion public debt. That money paid for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as additional military, intelligence and homeland security spending above pre-Sept. 11 trends, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
5-13-11
Sen. Lugar Raises Afghan Mission Questions
NPR interview by Steve Inkseep
Sen. Richard Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, talks to Steve Inskeep about funding for Afghanistan and Pakistan. This week the committee is debating funding for the Afghan war.
