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Branson Hunter · Guest

Our view on the war on terror: Iraq improves, but what's the plan for
Afghanistan?
Successes against one insurgency may hold clues for battling another.
As the situation in Iraq grows brighter, the one in Afghanistan
continues to darken.

USA Today, July 14, 2008 - In May and June, more U.S. and
international troops were killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq. Foreign
fighters are said to be flocking to safe havens across the Afghan
border in Pakistan.

A new Pentagon report describes it as a "resilient insurgency" that
increasingly threatens a weak Afghan government. Last week's truck
bombing in once-calm Kabul killed at least 41 people, the bloodiest
attack there since 2001.

This ominous drumbeat signals that Afghanistan, along with the tribal
areas across the border in Pakistan that harbor Islamic extremists,
are a growing threat to U.S. security, one that requires a fresh
approach. The rising number of bombings and suicide attacks bring
echoes of the trajectory in Iraq, where an illusory period of calm
after Saddam Hussein's ouster was followed by a vicious insurgency.

Afghanistan would undoubtedly be less dangerous had the United States
followed through on the 2001 invasion that toppled the Taliban and had
Osama bin Laden on the run, instead of diverting resources to Iraq.
But the need now is to deal with the present. Almost perversely, Iraq
has taught critical lessons for Afghanistan.

After muddling through with too few troops and overly rosy progress
reports, the Bush administration belatedly formulated a more coherent
Iraq strategy that appears to be working.

Now it's time for an Afghanistan/Pakistan plan that identifies what
success would look like, the means to achieve it and a way to marshal
those resources.

Gen. David Petraeus, who implemented the new strategy credited with
driving down violence in Iraq and who was confirmed Thursday as top
U.S. commander in the Middle East, is the ideal person to develop such
a plan. Elements should include:

Honest assessments. The Iraq insurgency initially was met with a state
of denial. Since Congress mandated regular reports from Petraeus, the
picture is clearer as to where matters stand and what actions are
needed. But the Pentagon's recent Afghanistan progress report lacks
the detail and clear overview needed to chart the way.

Goals and benchmarks. These have been tools for Americans and Iraqis
to measure progress and keep the pressure on Baghdad. In Afghanistan,
President Hamid Karzai increasingly has given in to warlords and
political corruption. Benchmarks could hold his feet to the fire.

Enough troops. The United States has 32,000 troops in Afghanistan
(compared with 145,000 in Iraq), and commanders say they need more.
More troops are almost certainly necessary, though only in context of
a clear, achievable plan, not in creeping additions.

Hearts and minds. In Iraq, U.S. forces have forged partnerships with
Sunnis who once fought with foreign al-Qaeda militants. Similar
partnerships might work with locals in Afghanistan alienated by the
extremists. In any case, Afghanistan will not be saved by force alone.
A tribal-level effort to improve lives will be needed.
A common theme in the major U.S. wars of the late 20th and early 21st
centuries — Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan — is that failure
goes hand in hand with muddling along rather than developing a clear-
eyed and cohesive strategy. Afghanistan isn't lost, but the
incremental approach isn't working.

Posted at 12:22 AM/ET, July 14, 2008 in Afghanistan - Editorial, USA
TODAY editorial

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/07/our-view-on-the.html#more

- END -

BL5511 · Guest

On Jul 14, 6:29 pm, Branson Hunter <bh2...@netzero.net> wrote:

Coffee in Madrid · Guest

In article
<2b9effcf-a9bd-4a41-97af-5a850c29e77c@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com>,
Branson Hunter <bh2322@netzero.net> wrote:

Guest

In <gdeppe-981CD7.20531914072008@[74.223.185.199.nw.nuvox.net]>, on
07/14/2008
at 11:53 PM, Coffee in Madrid <gdeppe@Thiseastlink.ca> said:

Al. E. Crocodile · Guest

"BL5511" <pb5511@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:22570de5-f51b-4af6-a5df-a0700f187136@c65g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...

Marcus Aurelius · Guest

Why did we invade Afghanistan?
Did the Taliban government of Afghanistan know about, support, or, in
any way, collaborate with the 9/11
attacks?
The answer is, unequivocally, NO!
It appears to me that both the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are merely
attempts at unprincipled vengance such
that initiated the world wide catastrophe called "W.W. I".
Rather, justice should have dictated that we, immediately, without
notice, should have sent in a large force of special forces
to locate and capture those responsible for 9/11 while, at the same
time, warning the Taliban government
that any attempt by their government to interfere with this operation
would amount to a declaration of war.
Instead, we actually gave warning to Ben Laden and his criminal
cohorts by informing them that we were
coming after them. They, therefore, escaped.
End the current illegal and criminal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but
support the returning veterans.