Afghanistan Study Group Weekly Reader: The Wars America Doesn’t Talk About, Confusion on the Drawdown
Following the attacks on the US embassy in Kabul last week, the death of Burhanuddin Rabbani, president of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, in a suicide bombing this morning was a grim reminder of how far we are from peace and stability in Afghanistan. Yet the wars figured only briefly in the political arena this week, with everyone from the President to the GOP presidential candidates focusing mainly on domestic issues. A brief mention of Afghanistan from Rick Perry sparked a confused debate that shows how little consensus there is when it comes to the drawdown. In addition to the political rhetoric, the past week saw two indicators of reluctance to wrap up the wars: an open letter calling for an extension of the US presence in Iraq, and the Senate appropriations bill, which fully funds the war costs request.
FROM ASG
9-19-11
Time to Cut the Cord: It’s Time Afghanistan National Security Forces Were in Charge of Afghan Security
Afghanistan Study Group by Mary Kaszynski
The jury’s still out on whether the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) are completely ready to take on responsibility for enforcing security in Afghanistan. Regardless of the exact extent of their capabilities, however, it’s time to stop relying on US troops and let the local forces take on the role they were trained for.
9-14-11
Notes From Afghanistan Part IV: Politics is Broken in Afghanistan
Afghanistan Study Group by Edward Kenney
Hamed, an Afghan journalist and good friend put it to me bluntly over dinner: “the government has lost the confidence of the Afghan people.” Time and again Afghans, NGOs, and researchers have echoed Hamed’s sentiment. What went wrong with the Afghan State and how can the U.S. rectify the situations? The answer to these questions depends on where you sit.
9-21-11
Notes From Afghanistan Part V: Understanding the Taliban. Are Our Assumptions Wrong?
Afghanistan Study Group by Edward Kenney
If there is one thing this month in Afghanistan has taught me, it is that our common assumptions about the Afghan conflict are likely to be fundamentally wrong. One assumption that is frequently made is that the war is basically political. Empirical support for this argument comes mainly from work done examining the roots of the uprising.
ARTICLES
9-13-11
First steps in cutting US spending on Afghan war
CBS NEWS
Congress took a first step toward scaling back U.S. spending plans for the Afghan war, reflecting a mounting political pressure to reduce budget deficits and a recalculation of what it will take to stabilize Afghanistan as U.S. and allied forces begin to withdraw forces.
Although an intense and costly program to build up Afghanistan’s army and police is a cornerstone of the NATO and U.S. strategy for winding down the war, renewed effort is under way to find further savings without undermining recent progress in training and equipping the Afghan forces.
8-16-11
Young Afghan fighters eager to rejoin Taliban
Washington Post by Kevin Sieff
As the Taliban presses its efforts to recruit teenage fighters, Afghan officials and their international backers have crafted a program to reintegrate the country’s youngest insurgents into mainstream society. But that ambition is coming up against the intransigence of the teens, who say they would rather be on the battlefield.
9-15-11
Rick Perry clarifies no speedy withdrawal from Afghanistan
The Cable by Josh Rogin
Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry kicked up a firestorm inside the GOP when he seemed to endorse Jon Huntsman’s call for a speedy withdrawal from Afghanistan during this week’s debate, but his real views on Afghanistan don’t match those of Huntsman, the GOP hawks, or President Barack Obama.
9-19-11
Afghanistan: NATO’s night raids cause more harm than good, report says
Christian Science Monitor by Tom A. Peter
Over the past year, US and NATO forces say they have made considerable progress against the Afghan insurgency through the use of night raids. But a new study suggests that the long-controversial nighttime operations are doing more harm than good.
