Kommentare zu: Obamas Afghanistanstrategie http://www.usa-blogger.de/aussenpolitik/obamas-afghanistanstrategie Der frische Blick auf die USA Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:36:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Von: Britt T. http://www.usa-blogger.de/aussenpolitik/obamas-afghanistanstrategie/comment-page-1#comment-9 Britt T. Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:32:16 +0000 http://www.usa-blogger.de/?p=131#comment-9 This is really cool that you wrote a piece about this, because I was going to ask you your opinion. I read Obama’s article in Foreign Affairs from 2007, (http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070701faessay86401/barack-obama/renewing-american-leadership.html) and in that he outlined his strategy: pull troops out of Iraq, increase the size of the American ground forces by 65,000 soldiers and 27,000 marines, use our military force in circumstances beyond self-defense, spending more on homeland security. This one sentence I found really interesting: “We should pursue an integrated strategy that reinforces our troops in Afghanistan and works to remove the limitations placed by some NATO allies on their forces.” I am not quite sure what that means, but I am guessing he is alluding to the rules of engagement that other countries follow, and he wants them to loosen those? Or he wants NATO allies to have more of a role in the Afghanistan effort? I can’t quite figure out his meaning. I digress, bottom line is that Obama certainly isn’t a pacifist. And I think it is interesting that many Obama supporters in the US have no idea of this. If you ask them Obama’s position on US military involvement in the world, it would be: “Obama is bringing the troops home.” When in reality, Obama just wants to divert the troops to the Afghanistan effort. I have mixed feelings about this. I feel that Afghanistan will prove a lot messier than Iraq. First off, the terrain just makes it unbelievably difficult to pursue a war there like the one in Iraq. The playing field is more leveled so that ground troops are pretty much the only way to go, which will most likely lead to a longer more drawn out engagement a la Vietnam. Secondly, you have the added factor of the opium production. The US insists on a two part strategy in combating opium growth while at the same time trying to combat Al Qaida and the Taliban, which makes for a my enemy is your enemy scenario. If we didn’t insist on that, we could have allies in the opium cartels, but instead they are siding with the Al Qaida just because AQ will allow them to continue to produce opium. Thirdly, you have Pakistan right next door, which is nothing like Iran being next door to Iraq. Iran is considerably more stable a country. Pakistan seems to be living in denial that they have a problem festering on their border. Pakistan is pretty much taking the place of Afghanistan as a training camp. Fourthly, whereas Iraq was attractive for many foreign fighters to go sharpen their teeth, it has now simmered down, and those foreign fighters are flowing towards Pakistan/Afghanistan, now with a whole new bag of tricks. I really home that Kaplan is right, but part of me really worries that Afghanistan/Pakistan will become the quagmire. Oh and about the overindulgence of beer and sausages: my husband told me that towards the end of their deployment in Afghanistan, they would go hang out with the French forces, because they had great wine (absolutely forbidden for US soldiers) and cheese. This is really cool that you wrote a piece about this, because I was going to ask you your opinion. I read Obama’s article in Foreign Affairs from 2007, (http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070701faessay86401/barack-obama/renewing-american-leadership.html) and in that he outlined his strategy: pull troops out of Iraq, increase the size of the American ground forces by 65,000 soldiers and 27,000 marines, use our military force in circumstances beyond self-defense, spending more on homeland security. This one sentence I found really interesting: “We should pursue an integrated strategy that reinforces our troops in Afghanistan and works to remove the limitations placed by some NATO allies on their forces.” I am not quite sure what that means, but I am guessing he is alluding to the rules of engagement that other countries follow, and he wants them to loosen those? Or he wants NATO allies to have more of a role in the Afghanistan effort? I can’t quite figure out his meaning.

I digress, bottom line is that Obama certainly isn’t a pacifist. And I think it is interesting that many Obama supporters in the US have no idea of this. If you ask them Obama’s position on US military involvement in the world, it would be: “Obama is bringing the troops home.” When in reality, Obama just wants to divert the troops to the Afghanistan effort.

I have mixed feelings about this. I feel that Afghanistan will prove a lot messier than Iraq. First off, the terrain just makes it unbelievably difficult to pursue a war there like the one in Iraq. The playing field is more leveled so that ground troops are pretty much the only way to go, which will most likely lead to a longer more drawn out engagement a la Vietnam. Secondly, you have the added factor of the opium production. The US insists on a two part strategy in combating opium growth while at the same time trying to combat Al Qaida and the Taliban, which makes for a my enemy is your enemy scenario. If we didn’t insist on that, we could have allies in the opium cartels, but instead they are siding with the Al Qaida just because AQ will allow them to continue to produce opium. Thirdly, you have Pakistan right next door, which is nothing like Iran being next door to Iraq. Iran is considerably more stable a country. Pakistan seems to be living in denial that they have a problem festering on their border. Pakistan is pretty much taking the place of Afghanistan as a training camp. Fourthly, whereas Iraq was attractive for many foreign fighters to go sharpen their teeth, it has now simmered down, and those foreign fighters are flowing towards Pakistan/Afghanistan, now with a whole new bag of tricks.

I really home that Kaplan is right, but part of me really worries that Afghanistan/Pakistan will become the quagmire.

Oh and about the overindulgence of beer and sausages: my husband told me that towards the end of their deployment in Afghanistan, they would go hang out with the French forces, because they had great wine (absolutely forbidden for US soldiers) and cheese.

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