Pres. Obama Announces Troop Surge, Makes Moral Case for Afghan War Effort
Related subjects: Afghanistan, Asia / Pacific, Diplomacy & Politics, Global, Obama administration, Presidential Addresses, Security & Surveillance, U.S. Politics Comments (1)
Pres. Barack Obama, in an historic address at the West Point Military Academy, to an audience of graduating Army cadets many of whom will be among those soldiers deployed next year, announced a new comprehensive strategy for intensifying US military efforts in Afghanistan and securing Afghanistan against the rise of violent extremism. He also cast the war effort in moral terms and cited his own obligation to make the right choice for the security of the American people.
Obama laid out a complex but clear strategy, to ensure there is:
1) adequate military force to fight the war, keep the enemy on the run, and destroy the insurgent networks and ideological contagion of the Taliban and al Qaeda;
2) a “civilian surge” that embraces Gen. Petraeus’ community-buildng counter-insurgency strategy and engages in what Gen. McChrystal calls “deep partnering”, to build alliances within the Afghan population and turn the tide against extremists;
3) a comprehensive partnership-building policy for Pakistan, to reinforce the civilian government there, strengthen the military, secure the nation’s nuclear weapons, build infrastructure and eliminate Taliban influence there.
Obama’s speech was impassioned and forceful, and rooted in an argument that the United States has a moral and historic obligation to follow through on its promise to rid Afghanistan of the indiscriminate brutality of totalitarian extremists like the Taliban and foreign terrorists like al Qaeda. He was visibly moved, though poised, when speaking of his very seriously weighing the sacrifice he is asking of every military man or woman who will deploy to war.
He also framed his announcement of the 30,000 troop increase in US military presence in Afghanistan in the context of history. He reminded his audience that the US did not seek the Afghan war, but the world joined together with the US to recognize the justice and necessity of the cause, in 2001. He spoke of the US finding a moral cause that motivates its will to wage war, however reluctantly, in a far-off, intensely poor country, and to do so only as an expression of the commitment to realizing the inherent virtue of a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”.
Alex Castellanos, an unpaid advisor to the Republican National Committee, and a relentless critic of Pres. Obama, acknowledged that Obama’s address was forceful and well-delivered, full of emotion and sincere. Castellanos did, however, criticize Obama for not addressing a basic flaw in the prosecution of the Afghan war, dating back to the Bush years, where the military is fighting a war but the American people have not been asked to sacrifice or even to pay attention to the ongoing conflict.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he believes “every American is disappointed that eight years into this war we have to send 30,000 more troops, but that’s the reality”, and voiced his support for Pres. Obama’s new strategy. Graham’s only question related to whether setting a “best-case” timetable for withdrawal might send a signal to the Taliban and/or al-Qaeda to simply bide their time and prepare to step up their attacks only after US forces begin to pull out.
CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, in a lively panel discussion on what is making the Afghan conflict so chaotic and unwieldy, said the main problem the Karzai government has in maintaining order across the south of the country is the government’s perceived separation from the largest Pashtun tribes. Michael Ware agreed enthusiastically and said the largest Pashtun tribes have been excluded from the process of building the new Afghan state, arguing that failure to engage them will prolong the conflict and strengthen the Taliban.
Obama’s “civilian surge” would seem to be in line with both Gen. McChrystal’s call for “deep partnering” and what Zakaria and Ware suggest is needed to engage the Pashtun tribes and convert both communities and leaders to join the coalition effort to stabilize Afghanistan, build civilian social infrastructure and eliminate the Taliban threat.
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[...] He was visibly moved, though poised, when speaking of his very seriously weighing the sacrifice he is asking of every military man or woman who will deploy to war, and reminded his audience that the US did not seek the Afghan war, but the world joined together with the US to recognize the justice and necessity of the cause, in 2001. He also pledged to take seriously all the local and regional dynamics that will either prolong or help to win the war and protect against the spread of violent extremism. [Read more...] [...]