Obama’s Muddled Thinking on Afghanistan
December 23, 2011
Obama’s Muddled Thinking on Afghanistan
The Washington Post has an article today about the umpteenth instance of failed talks with the Taliban, with the U.S. apparently offering to release Taliban detainees from Guantanamo in return for a (worthless) promise from the Taliban to renounce international terrorism. The deal was scuttled, according to the Post, by (legitimate) objections from Hamid Karzai, but it is not clear if the administration could have carried out its end anyway because of domestic opposition to releasing more hardened terrorists from Gitmo.
What was really fascinating to me in this article was a section from the middle:
President Obama has already ordered the withdrawal by September of the 33,000 troops he sent to Afghanistan last year. “The big debate,” a Defense official said, is “can you come up with another number for what happens over the next 12 months” after that drawdown. “The argument will once again be the military saying let’s keep it at 68,000,” the number of troops who will remain in September, “and [Vice President] Biden saying let’s get it down to 20,000 really quickly, with the reality somewhere in between.”
Although Biden lost the argument over the surge in late 2009, officials said the internal administration balance has shifted toward a steeper glide path that would put the Afghans in charge sooner rather than later, in conjunction with a political settlement.
This is a fair description, I believe, of the president’s deeply muddled thinking on the future of Afghanistan. It suggests that he will make future decisions as he made decisions in the past: on a split-the-difference model. In 2010, he tacitly endorsed Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request to pursue a full-blown counterinsurgency strategy but provided the minimal amount of resources required—only about 30,000 extra troops, which was at the “high risk” side of the options offered by McChrystal. This was in essence an attempt to compromise between McChrystal and Joe Biden, who advocated sending even fewer troops and pursuing a lesser, counterterrorism-focused mission. Then in June of this year, Obama ordered the premature withdrawal of those 30,000+ troops—they will be pulled out by September 2012, well ahead of the recommendations of military commanders. Now, with military commanders asking to keep at least 68,000 troops through 2014, President Obama seems set to draw down much faster than they recommend—although not to the extent advocated by the most strident anti-war voices.
You can see the political logic of what Obama is doing: He is trying to please both hawks and doves. Unfortunately, war is not a realm where half measures are likely to succeed. Adopting an ambitious strategy, as we’ve done in Afghanistan, but not resourcing it adequately, as Obama has also done, is a recipe for slow-motion failure. It is a high-risk strategy that is likely to get a lot of troops killed and for no good reason. Paradoxically, sending more troops would actually reduce casualties by making it easier to dominate the battlefield.
Not only does this make little sense strategically, it makes little sense politically: Obama will get just as much flak for keeping 50,000 troops in Afghanistan
as he would for 68,000. But the higher number provides a greater chance of success; more troops still would heighten our chances even more. If we are going to fight in Afghanistan, Obama needs to go “all in” as President Bush did during the surge in Iraq. He should not pin his hopes on peace talks which are unlikely to go anywhere.
Iraqi refugee pleads guilty to 23 counts of terror-related charges
December 17, 2011
Iraqi refugee pleads guilty to 23 counts of terror-related charges
Courts or Gitmo? Either/or, in this case.
An Iraqi refugee who turned out to have participated in the insurgencies prior to arriving in the US and took part in supporting them after his arrival created a controversy between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Obama administration. Waad Ramadan Alwan lived in Kentucky, McConnell’s state, and his arrest by the FBI on [...]
Eric Holder: Seriously, We’re Going to Close Gitmo Pretty Soon
September 20, 2011
Eric Holder: Seriously, We’re Going to Close Gitmo Pretty Soon
Holder: Obama Regime Hell Bent on Closing GITMO
September 20, 2011
Holder: Obama Regime Hell Bent on Closing GITMO
In keeping with Obama’s deep affection for America.
(POLITICO) — U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration is doing everything it can to shut down the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before the 2012 presidential elections.
Speaking Tuesday at the European Parliament, Holder said the administration is focused on closing the controversial facility “as quickly as possible, recognizing that we will face substantial pressure,” The Associated Press reports.
He added that the effort to shutter the detention facility would continue even after the 2012 elections if they can’t shut it down before then.
“We will be pressing for the closure of the facility between now and then — and after that election, we will try to close it as well,” Holder said. “Some people have made this a political issue without looking at, I think, the real benefits that would flow from the closure of the facility.”
The failure to keep his campaign promise of closing Guantanamo has been a headache for President Barack Obama throughout his presidency.
In December, Congress passed legislation that barred the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo to the U.S. — one method that Obama said would aide the process of closing the prison. In March, Obama said military trials could resume at the detention center, prompting some to accuse the White House of stepping further from the possibility of shutting down the facility.
Earlier this month, Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan said the administration will not send any new war-on-terror prisoners to Guantanamo, saying, “It’s this administration’s policy to close Guantanamo and, despite some congressional hurdles that have been put in our path, we’re going to continue to pursue that.”
Meanwhile, Holder also reiterated on Tuesday that the United States would maintain its “fundamental break” from some harsh interrogation techniques.
“We have indicated that certain techniques that were used previously are in fact torture, and will not be engaged in again by the United States,” he said.
Former Club Gitmo Guest Killed in Afghan Raid
September 4, 2011
Former Club Gitmo Guest Killed in Afghan Raid
This is one of those terrorist celebrities used as a mascot by the so-called “human rights” groups, decried by the left as an anonymous victim. Of course, as soon as we go and free the guy he takes up arms against us once again.
Well, not any more.A former Guantanamo Bay detainee sent home to Afghanistan took up arms with al Qaeda — and, like Osama bin Laden, he ended up shot dead by US
