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| The Next Afghan Strategy Looks Like ItÂ’ll Focus on the Counterterrorism Question |
| 2009-10-07 |
| If itÂ’s true, as reported, that the question of the CIAÂ’s drone strikes against al-Qaeda in Pakistan is bolstering support for the so-called counterterrorism option in the Obama administrationÂ’s Afghanistan/Pakistan strategy, then tomorrowÂ’s meeting at the White House looks, from the attendance sheet, like itÂ’ll debate precisely that issue. HereÂ’s the just-released list of scheduled participants: Vice President Biden Secretary of State Clinton Secretary of Defense Gates Ambassador Susan Rice, Permanent US Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General David Petraeus, U.S. Central Command General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Commander in Afghanistan (via videoconference) Admiral Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence CIA Director Leon Panetta Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (via videoconference) Anne Patterson, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan (via videoconference) General James Jones, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Brennan, one of ObamaÂ’s most important advisers, wasnÂ’t in last weekÂ’s meeting; neither was Donilon or Rice. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #3 ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > AFGHAN TALIBAN SAY THEY POSE NO THREAT TO THE WEST. However. will still fight the US-NATO as long as the latter refuse to leave Afghanistan = AFPAK. * SAME > HAIKIMULLAH MEHSUD FINALLY SURFACES [ + REHMAN MALIK]. MSM-Net Reports of their demise are seemingly premature. ZOMBIES LIVE, + aren't gonna take it anymore! D *** NG IT, M-A-S-H > PR US ARMY GENERAL > "This is a PRESS CONFERENCE - THE LAST THING I WANT TO DO IS ANSWER A LOT OF QUESTIONS"! |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-10-07 21:56 |
| #2 from Foreign Policy: The Senate Intelligence Committee's ranking Republican, Kit Bond, R-MO, calls into The Cable to give some insider details on the Afghanistan strategy briefing he attended at the White House just now. The meeting was heavy on strategy, light on specifics, and generally had a positive and bipartisan tone, Bond reports. His main takeaway was that Obama pledged not to return to a counterterrorism approach, where troops "shoot and then fall back to the base," Bond said. Obama told the lawmakers that "nobody on his team was proposing that," Bond reported, which lawmakers took to mean that the president was leaning toward a strategy heavily focused on counterinsurgency, which is of course more manpower intensive. And though Obama didn't reveal whether or not he will approve Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for up to 40,000 more troops, the president did talk about the need for Congress to quickly approve additional funding quickly if and when more troops are sent over there. "If he provides more troops, we are going to need more resources," was the message the White House was sending, according to Bond, who interpreted that to mean another supplemental funding bill could be in the offing. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2009-10-07 15:13 |
| #1 Obama has now said publicly he wont reduce force levels. That seems incompatible with a pure CT approach. I think the question now is the mix of approaches - how much COIN do you do, vs how much CT. I suspect the two ambassadors wil support Clinton and Holbrooke, encouraging continued COIN emphasis, whatever the force level. I dont know where Rice or Brennan stand, Im particularly curious about the latter. he knows a helluva lot more about CT than the Veep does, and I think he is pretty respected by POTUS. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2009-10-07 14:59 |