DoD Buzz: More Troops Won’t Fix Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

More Troops Won’t Fix Afghanistan
By Rick Ozzie Nelson Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 9:18 am
Posted in Commentary

“Beyond Troop Increases”

A major troop buildup in Afghanistan would prolong the war at a moment when the U.S. should be looking for ways to end it. Worse, military escalation could further destabilize South Asia and hinder the Obama administration’s larger efforts to “disrupt, dismantle, and defeat” al Qaeda.

How might things unravel? Consider the last eight years of conflict in the region. In 2001, U.S. troops and their allies routed much of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Despite this, many militants—especially key al Qaeda leaders—escaped into Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where they still enjoy relative sanctuary.

A large infusion of American forces could have the same effect today. Escalation might drive the Taliban out of Afghanistan but push additional insurgents across the border and further destabilize the already volatile FATA, now the epicenter of global terrorism.

This would occur in the midst of Islamabad’s recently begun military offensive there—the type of campaign that U.S. officials have long encouraged Pakistan to undertake. Preventing this sort of consolidation of militant strength in northwestern Pakistan is crucial to America’s counterterrorism efforts. Up to now, however, U.S. policy has rested heavily on the premise that the best way to counter al Qaeda is to deny the group a “haven” in Afghanistan. This approach ignores the obvious reality that al Qaeda already has an adequate base of operations in northwestern Pakistan, where the intensity of any ground offensive is beyond U.S. control.


Rest of article at: http://www.dodbuzz.com/2009/11/24/dont-boost-us-presence-in-afghanistan/?wh=wh

[Buzz Clik]

1. Hm. Lots of opinions out there. I wonder how these same people felt about the "surge" in Iraq.