Crocker: “Sustainable Stability” Is The Goal In Afghanistan

By Eric Rice

At his Senate Committee on Foreign Relations confirmation hearing today, Career Ambassador Ryan Crocker, President Obama’s nominee to become the next U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, presented a grimly sober, but nonetheless hopeful, view of the future of Afghanistan. 

The ambassador was praised for accepting the President’s call to return to service after a brief retirement.  Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced him, calling him a “hero” who helped oversee “nothing short of a miracle” in Iraq. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) told him, “I have total confidence that you will confirmed and you should be confirmed.”

The statements and questions from the committee focused on the potential for an upcoming drawdown of American troops, the 2014 transition deadline and the cost of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. In his opening statement, Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said, “while the United States has genuine national security interests in Afghanistan, our current commitment, in troops and dollars, is unsustainable.”

In light of the political and economic pressures on Congress and the President to pull troops out of Afghanistan, much of the hearing focused on determining the U.S.’s goal in Afghanistan. 

Kerry said, “we need to define the Afghanistan we want to leave behind to achieve our objectives and bring clarity to the situation.” Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) echoed Kerry, calling for “a definition of success in Afghanistan based on U.S. vital interests and a sober analysis of what we can achieve.”

Ambassador Crocker said that his goal in Afghanistan is “sustainable stability” and “good-enough governance.” 

“We cannot create a shining city upon a hill,” he repeatedly emphasized. “Our core goal in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is to disrupt, dismantle and destroy al-Qa’ida, and to deny it safe haven in those countries.” 

In order to achieve this goal, the ambassador emphasized the importance of governance and rule of law, especially the combating of corruption, which he calls “the second insurgency.” He explained that unless the Afghani government can truly stand on its own, al-Qa’ida will come pouring back over the border from Pakistan as soon as the United States pulls out. 

Kerry, pressing him on the issue, asked if 150,000 U.S. troops are really necessary to ensure that, before admitting it was an unfair question for someone who has not been in on administration discussions regarding possible troop drawdowns.  

With regard to the length of American commitment in Afghanistan, Crocker said that the international community as a whole will have to be involved in an aid capacity well past 2014. He pointed out that even during the fifty years of relative stability in Afghanistan from 1928 to 1978, the country relied heavily on international aid. However, he made it very clear that he expects the international community as a whole to help with that assistance.  

Crocker also promised that “the precious U.S. taxpayer resources being used in Afghanistan are applied effectively, transparently, and with an eye toward long-term sustainability of these efforts by the Afghans themselves.”  At the same time, he underscored the importance of remaining committed to Afghanistan:

“As Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has noted, we walked away from Afghanistan once in 1989 with disastrous consequences. We cannot afford to do so again.”