Afghanistan Weekly Reader – Drawdown Debates
You may have read a report from the Associated Press this Saturday that the US will follow through on the agreement to remove virtually all military forces from Iraq by the end of the year. If so, you were probably disappointed when the White House immediately dismissed the report, saying negotiations on US troop levels post-2011 are still ongoing.
A similar debate is happening for Afghanistan. The administration’s plans to transition to local security forces by 2014. Military leaders, from JCS chair Gen. Martin Dempsey to Gen. John Allen, the commander of allied forces in Afghanistan, have stated that that US troops will be there longer.
Meanwhile, as we read about record-high casualties, continuing costs, and the faltering peace negotiations, we can’t help but wonder: how much longer will the debate continue before it becomes clear/before we realize that a new strategy is needed?
FROM ASG
10-14-11
Want Security? Buy A Warlord
ASG blog by Mary Kaszynski
Earlier this year we reported on the case of Afghan National Police Commander Azizullah, a protégé of US Special Ops Forces and human rights offender, according to an internal UN report. The report detailed several instances of police brutality involving Azizullah, and questioned the reasoning for keeping him on the US payroll. NATO officials conducted an internal investigation and brushed off the allegations, so TIME’s Julius Cavendish looked into the case, conducting interviews with local sources to find out how the stories match up. The results of the investigation are disturbing.
10-18-11
Beyond Boots On The Ground – A Cost-Effective Approach To US Foreign Policy
ASG blog by Mary Kaszynski
The violence of the past several weeks, particularly the assassination of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani and the collapse of the peace negotiations, have highlighted the multifaceted nature of Afghanistan’s troubles: poor governance, faltering economy, not to mention ongoing tensions with Pakistan. US soldiers and Marines cannot provide solutions to these problems – they are not trained to do so, they shouldn’t be asked to try.
ARTICLES
10-12-11
Nato success against Taliban in Afghanistan ‘may be exaggerated’
The Guardian by Julian Borger
The success of one of Nato’s principal tactics against the Taliban – targeted night raids aimed at killing or capturing leaders of the insurgency – may have been exaggerated to make the military campaign in Afghanistan look more effective, according to a report published on Wednesday.
The study shows that for every “leader” killed in the raids, eight other people also died, although the raids were designed to be a precise weapon aimed at decapitating the Taliban on the battlefield by removing their commanders.
10-15-11
CIA to Fuse Troops’ Opinions in War Analysis
AP by Kimberley Dozier
The CIA is giving the military a greater say in the debate over how the war in Afghanistan is going by allowing battlefield commanders to weigh into the analysis at early stages, U.S. officials say.
The move prompted a flurry of criticism in the intelligence community’s old guard, worried the change presages a campaign by newly arrived general-turned-CIA director David Petraeus to improve the poor marks the CIA gave the war effort in its own analysis earlier this year.
10-17-11
More than Half of Afghans See NATO as Occupiers
SpiegelOnline
Fully 60 percent of Afghans fear that the country will descend into civil war once NATO forces leave, but over half see the Western alliance as occupiers. A new survey carried out be the Konrad Adenauer Foundation has found that the mood in Afghanistan is worsening.
10-18-11
Afghan security to cost “$5 billion a year” after pullout
Reuters by Zhou Xin
A fully fledged Afghan national security force, including army and police, will cost about $5 billion a year after international combat forces pull out in 2014, the Afghanistan defence minister told reporters on Tuesday. The price tag estimated by Abdul Rahim Wardak was more than three times the Afghan government’s domestic revenue in 2010, and about a third of the country’s gross domestic product.
