House panel hears experts' views on war strategy

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House panel hears experts' views on war strategy
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, February 13, 2009

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers and security experts agree that Afghanistan will dominate the military’s focus over the next few years, and will require a rethinking of troop deployments, mission strategy and basic goals for success there.

But whether that means an accelerated drawdown from Iraq or a slow-but-steady approach to getting more troops into Afghanistan still depends on who’s talking.

On Thursday, the House Armed Services Committee invited a panel of military analysts to discuss the way forward for U.S. interests in both countries. Anthony Cordesman, chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told lawmakers that if reinforcements aren’t sent to Afghanistan quickly "there isn’t going to be a mid- or long-term plan to worry about."

Stephen Biddle of the Council on Foreign Relations disagreed. Fighting between the Taliban and U.S. forces in southern Afghanistan is at an acceptable stalemate, he said, and troops cannot be relocated there from Iraq quickly without jeopardizing security gains in Baghdad.

Committee members said that’s the dilemma facing President Barack Obama. The White House is currently reviewing strategy to help shape the focus of future missions.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60676