Obama's Afghanistan Dilemma: "Growing Dissent" On More Troops

[babylonsister]

Obama's Afghanistan Dilemma: "Growing Dissent" On More Troops
Sam Stein

December 8, 2008 02:09 PM


No more than one year ago, it was widely assumed that the great foreign policy challenge facing the next president would be what to do with U.S. troops in Iraq. The surge had produced a unexpected geopolitical dilemma: was the reduction of violence enough for American forces to leave, or simply affirmation that a sizable U.S. military presence was necessary?

That question, however, has largely been solved -- taken off the political shelf by the signing of a Status of Forces Agreement between the United States and Iraq. And now, somewhat remarkably, the foreign policy issue being hotly debated is one where there was once seemingly wide consensus.

Afghanistan, the so-called 'good war,' was and remains a dangerous theater. During the closing months of the presidential campaign it was taken as gospel that America needed to send more troops there. Even John McCain, initially skittish on the notion, came to argue that a greater U.S. military buildup was needed.

And yet, over the last few weeks, the progressive community that once pleaded for greater resources and attention to Afghanistan has begun to raise concerns about the idea that additional forces could change that country's increasingly dire situation.

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/08/obamas-afghanistan-dilemm_n_149331.html

[Mari333]

1. good. hope he is listening. n/t

[babylonsister]

3. Me, too. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. More cannon fodder for an unwinnable war is not a great strategy.

Also, Karzai, with quiet American and British backing, is negotiating with the Taliban for a resolution.

I have a nasty feeling that Pakistan is the real target for any further hostilities.

[babylonsister]

4. Did you see this? And I think there was more bombing today:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4608440&mesg_id=4608440

Pakistani Militants Torch 160 U.S. and NATO Vehicles

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Yes. And, just as disturbing..

Even if the report is exaggerated, it still shows that the Taliban, and their allies, are gaining ground. I listened to the report on BBC this morning which spells it out in more detail. BBC report 4.5 minutes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/news/2008/12/081208_taleban_pannell_wup_dm.shtml

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081208/wl_nm/us_afghan_report;_ylt=Ag2vb851AC0LNRqccBylUzZm.3QA

KABUL (Reuters) – The Taliban hold a permanent presence in 72 percent of Afghanistan, a think-tank said on Monday, but NATO and the Afghan government rejected the report, saying its figures were not credible.

The findings by the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) come in the wake of a series of critical reports on Western-led military and development efforts to put an end to the seven-year Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

The U.S. government is conducting a wide-ranging review of strategy aimed at countering the Taliban guerrilla and bombing campaign which analysts agree has grown in both scale and scope in the last year.

But while the trends in the ICOS report reflected prevailing sentiment on Afghanistan, many of its findings appeared flawed and contained some glaring errors, security analysts said.