RealClearWorld
Advertisement

October 19, 2009

Obama Faces Endurance Test in Afghanistan

Roger Cohen, International Herald Tribune

AP Photo

NEW YORK — When it comes to Afghanistan, hawks back Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request for 40,000 or more troops while doves try to parse the distinctions between the Taliban and Al Qaeda to justify rejecting his view and eventually heading for the exit. Right?

No, wrong. I’m a hawk on Afghanistan but for that reason I’m skeptical of a major troop surge because it might bolster the view that there’s a quick fix for a country that’s the fifth poorest in the world, enjoys life expectancy of 44, and has been lacerated by three decades of war. In Afghanistan, 30 years of fighting now demand 30 years of partnership from the United States.

The troop numbers game, in which President Obama looks wobbly, is in fact a distraction. Numbers matter...

Read Full Article ››

TAGGED: Afghanistan, New York

RECOMMENDED ARTICLES

May 15, 2012
How Democracies Exit Small Wars
United States Studies Centre
This article published in the Australian Journal of International Affairs argues that opposition political parties can play an important role in determining when and how a democracy exits a small war. Recent theoretical and... more ››
May 15, 2012
Afghan Post-Intervention Era Takes Shape
Jason Burke, The Guardian
With no let-up in the U.S. pullout and peace hopes receding, Afghanistan's post-international-intervention era is taking shape. more ››
May 16, 2012
NATO's Afghan Supply Route Is Hurting Pakistan
Rafia Zakaria, Dawn
It is time that the issue of the Nato supply route began to be evaluated not simply in terms of how crucial the supplies are for US forces battling the Taliban in Afghanistan, but the danger it creates for ordinary Pakistanis... more ››
May 17, 2012
How to Keep Afghanistan Secure
Zalmay Khalilzad, The National Interest
One historic weakness of U.S. foreign policy has been the excessive confidence of policy makers who believe they can foresee the future. As a result, they lock themselves into policies and fail to adjust in time, even when their... more ››
May 18, 2012
The Afghan View from Kazakhstan
Yerzhan Kazykhanov, RealClearWorld
The development of the Northern Distribution Network (NDN) as a supply route to Afghanistan through Russia and Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, has played a vital role in sustaining ISAF's operations in Afghanistan. ... more ››
|