Afghanistan Needs Continued American Commitment, Says Official

Philip Bunnell - Talk Radio News Service

Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke told the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday that if the United States is going have a successful run in Afghanistan, its commitment and investment must continue unwavered. 

Holbrooke said strengthening the Afghan government and weeding out corruption is critical if President Obama’s war strategy is to succeed. 

“The steps we’ve taken so far to fight corruption is a start,” said Holbrooke, citing the multiple recent arrests of corrupt Afghan officials. Despite the progress, Holbrooke acknowledges that there was still a lot of work to do in erasing corruption within the Afghan government.

One of the keys to a stronger Afghan government, Holbrooke said, is an effective transfer of control from US and NATO forces to locals. He said that, without a commitment to a smooth transfer, “the process will not move forward.”

Holbrooke stressed that persistent investment in the Afghan military and police forces and the economic development of the country is vital. Accomplishing these goals will require “continued American commitment,” and patience even after American troops have left the country.

Holbrooke’s testimony comes in wake of wavering Democratic support for the war in Afghanistan, including a vote for an additional $37 billion in war spending that 106 House Democrats voted against.

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), one of the opposing Democrats, questioned the validity of the United States’ mission in Afghanistan. Moran recounted his recent visit to Afghanistan where he was told that from the perspective of some Afghan tribal leaders, the United States “didn’t liberate Marja, the Taliban liberated it from a corrupt police chief who was preying on his own people.”

We're Going to Have to Kill A Lot of Taliban, Says Expert

Philip Bunnell - Talk Radio News Service

Dr. David Kilcullen told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday that in order to reach the point of reconciliation with insurgents in Afghanistan “we’re going to have to kill a lot of Taliban to get them to negotiate.”

Kilcullen , non-resident senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said bluntly that “when governments fight insurgents, they win 80% of the time, however, when governments fight insurgents in other countries, they are victorious 20% of the time.” 

Kilcullen said a government that is fighting insurgents at home has a political need to negotiate. Therefore, Kilcullen asserted that the United States will need to “negotiate from a position of strength,” and that the Taliban must believe that “they will have more to gain from talking to us than continuing to fight.”

Ryan Crocker, former ambassador to Iraq, agreed with Kilcullen saying that “reconciliation is only possible when insurgents are unsure if they are winning.”

Crocker also criticized the deadline for troop withdrawal in Afghanistan and the effects of publicizing will have on the attitudes of insurgents. While it is very complicated and nuanced, Crocker said he was concerned as to how the Taliban viewed the deadline, stating that they see it “as a date they need to hold out to, then they’ll be ok.”

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, briefly touched on the 90,000 leaked documents regarding the war in Afghanistan from the public whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

“It’s important not to overhype or get excessively excited about the meaning of those documents,” said Kerry. “To those of us who have lived through the Pentagon Papers… there is no relationship whatsoever between that event and these documents.”

Pence: Leaked War Documents an Outrage

Philip Bunnell - Talk Radio News Service

Chairman of the House Republican Conference Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) expressed outrage Monday over the 90,000 leaked Afghanistan war documents.

The documents, Pence said, were “leaked in a clear violation of the law, it was an outrage and ought to be an outrage to every American.” 

The New York Times, Britain’s The Guardian, and Der Spiegel of Germany all agreed to publish a select number of the war documents which were made public on Wikileaks, a public whistleblower website. Pence criticized the news syndications for publishing the documents, saying that the “publication of those documents was wrong.”

“When we are dealing with national security some things need to stay classified,” Pence said. “I am a champion of reporters’ privileges, but leaking information that compromises national security should not be protected.”

Pence criticized the deadline that President Obama set on troop withdrawal in Afghanistan. “The Taliban are using the president’s deadline as a recruiting tool,” Pence said. “We need to finish the job.”

McCain Urges Quick Action On Plan For More Troops In Afghanistan

By Julianne LaJeunesse - University of New Mexico

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke Tuesday about American international policies in a conference hosted by the Foreign Policy Initiative, an organization that rejects U.S. policies "that would lead us down the path of isolation."

During a speech entitled, "Advancing and Defending Democracy," McCain said that President Obama is admirable for keeping his composure during intensifying U.S. international commitments, but added that he disagreed with the President's recent decision to scrap its plans for a European missile defense shield. Said McCain, America should maintain loyalties to people and plans.

When asked by moderator and Foreign Policy Initiative Founder Bob Kagan about the time it's taking to implement a military plan in Afghanistan, McCain said the longer it takes to get troops there, the more strapped the plan becomes.

"You make a decision to do something, for example, to deploy troops... it takes a period of time before you get them over there," McCain said. "It's not a matter of just putting them on a plane and flying them over. There's all of the equipment, all of the preparations, all of the things necessary for deployment of troops. So even if the President made the decision tomorrow, there would be a period of time where we still don't have sufficient troops to do what's necessary there."

McCain said troops in Afghanistan are necessary because "at least some of Americans may have forgotten that it was Afghanistan where Al Qaeda really received the training in order to orchestrate the attacks on United States of America on 9/11."

The senator said that America's sympathy for troop deployment in Aghanistan is waning and that Obama may have to follow previous leaders who have "gone against the majority of public opinion, either in their party or the country, because they were in times of crisis and they knew that they had to take certain actions."

McCain also commented on the Obama administration's recent system technology change from a planned "antiballistic missile shield" to a smaller SM-3 interceptor system in the Czech Republic and Poland, which he said was "technically correct," but added that "the handling of this issue is very harmful."

Senate Armed Forces Chairman Recommends Surge Of Afghan Forces

By Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service

Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) called Friday for a significant increase in the size of Afghanistan's security forces.

"We need a surge of Afghan security forces, we have not done enough to put that into motion," Levin said during a press conference.

Levin stated he would like to see least 240,000 Afghan security forces on the ground by 2012.

According to Levin, a series of steps to help the Afghan security forces will be made to ensure that sufficient man power, equipment and support will be there to help the Afghan forces with their efforts.

Levin added that the immediate goal in Afghanistan should be to reduce the American presence in the country.

Levin set out three major goals in regard to Afghan forces: Putting more trainers on the ground, a major effort to transfer equipment and supplies from Iraq to the Afghanistan army and police, and a concerted effort to separate the local Taliban from their leaders.

“If this plan can be put into place by reintegrating Taliban forces we can turn this thing around”, said Levin.

Levin commented on the halted nomination process for Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) to be appointed as Secretary Of The Army by President Obama, stating that there were discussions within the administration. Levin said he was hopeful there would be a vote by next week.

When asked about the apparent lack of police coordination surrounding reports made from news organizations that misinterpreted a Friday morning coast guard training exercise, Levin remarked “I’m surprised ... That kind of coordination should exist”.