Tag: Afghanistan pullout

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Obama Repeats Past Mistakes in Afghanistan

Deeply disturbing news comes from a recent Congressional hearing on Afghanistan.

Unlike the contentious political skirmishes that surrounded the Iraq war and U.S. involvement in Libya, America’s military action against the Taliban, which has now become the nation’s longest fight, were widely supported. Clearly, that organization’s involvement in the destruction of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon made the necessity for a response beyond question.

However, in a repeat of questionable political dictates from the Vietnam era, U.S. and allied forces did not engage in full scale warfare designed to bring about absolute victory.  The enemy was allowed to take haven across national borders, and rules of engagement designed more for public opinion and legal scholars took precedence over actually defeating the foe.

In accordance with President Obama’s drive to end U.S. combat operations and withdraw most troops, similar to his policy in Iraq which allowed ISIS to become a major regional power, Americans are handing off combat duties to Afghan forces.  Unfortunately, they do not seem ready or capable of handling the responsibility.

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) Chair of the House Armed Service Submcommittee on Oversight and investigations, stated “In reading the recent Congressional reports submitted by our witnesses, and listening to testimony from General Campbell, the subcommittee understands that the Afghan security forces are still in their nascent stages of becoming a professionalized, self-sustaining, and capable institution.  But, there are still various shortfalls and insufficient capabilities in important functions hindering these goals.

“The Afghan forces do not have enough airplanes or helicopters, especially those capable of providing close-air support.  While there clearly has been improvement, the ability to collect and disseminate ample intelligence is lacking, as is the ability to maintain and account for equipment.  Even the ‘bread and butter’ administrative issues, such as pay, leave, and medical services for Afghan forces need attention…these challenges are compounded by the fact that 70 percent of the problems facing Afghan Security forces result from poor senior leadership within the Afghan Ministries of Defense and the Interior.
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“The Taliban are emboldened, the Haqqani Network continues to sponsor terrorist attacks, and there is a growing Islamic State presence in Afghanistan…

“I am concerned that the president’s current budget request for aiding the Afghan forces is $200 million less than last year’s amount, and the Administration plans to withdrawal U.S. forces down to 5,500 beginning as soon as April of this year.  We must not prematurely reduce our commitment to the people of Afghanistan.  All one needs to do is look at the result of premature withdrawal in Iraq to determine what will happen if we repeat near history and prematurely leave Afghanistan.”

As noted in a Stratfor review,  “…the Taliban’s 15-year insurgency is escalating. The militant group now controls more territory than at any time since the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2001. Worse still, the Taliban’s resolve to continue waging war remains undiminished…Army Gen. John Campbell, the outgoing commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, commented that Afghanistan has reached an inflection point, warning that 2016 could be even worse than 2015 if the United States fails to prosecute a consistent and effective strategy. Campbell also urged Congress to extend its annual $4.1 billion aid package to Afghanistan until at least 2020.”

Quoting Taliban sources, Longwar Journal notes that the organization as saying  embraced this death and destruction for the sake of some silly ministerial posts or a share of the power.  ‘This objective’ mentioned in the above quote is the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban’s official name of its government. The Taliban has insisted from the very beginning that it will settle for nothing less than regaining full power.”

Over objections based both on practical and moral grounds, the Obama Administration opened discussions with the Taliban in 2011.  Since then, Taliban forces have become more brazen and effective.

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Afghan pullout may repeat mistake in Iraq

The Constitution gives Congress a considerable role, through funding and treaty approval, in military and foreign affairs. It has also has been an area in which the citizenry and the press have, through vigorous comments, demonstrations and electoral decisions, played a substantial part.

Uniquely, however, throughout the course of the Obama presidency, the influence of Congress and the public has been comparatively less considerable. Part of this has been due to the exceptional support this White House has received from the media, limiting the public’s exposure to the controversial nature and unwanted results of his decisions. Additionally, Mr. Obama’s tactic of labelling new treaties as “agreements” or other terms has been successfully employed to reduce the Senate’s role.

Throughout his tenure in office, Mr. Obama has combined reduced military spending with lesser cooperation with traditional allies and greater concessions to adversaries. He has given greater priority to United Nations decision making, as well as concerns about potential global warming over more immediate issues such as national security.

There have been dramatically undesirable results from the President’s policies, including the failed “reset” with Russia, China’s continuing extensive cyberespionage, unfair trade tactics, and outright armed aggression, and, of course, the series of mistakes which strengthened international terrorism to an unprecedented degree. It appears that a repeat of his mistake in Iraq may lead to the return of the Taliban and a new role for other terrorist forces in Afghanistan.

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It has been approximately a year since the U.S. and its NATO allies have changed their mission from direct confrontation with Afghanistan Islamic extremist to a supporting role for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF.)  The President had previously announced a departure date for U.S. forces from Afghanistan, but later amended his plans, in light of the disastrous results of the Iraqi pullout, to allow some continuation of a limited role.

According to a Defense Department Report  “Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan,” “U.S. forces in Afghanistan continue to conduct two narrow, well-defined, and complementary missions: training, advising, and assisting the ANDSF and supporting counterterrorism operations against the remnants of al Qaeda and its associates. In order to preserve hard-fought gains and help the ANDSF continue to develop and to provide stability and security in Afghanistan, on October 15, 2015, President Obama announced that U.S. forces will maintain their current posture of 9,800 military personnel through most of 2016. By the end of 2016, rather than draw down to a Kabul-only U.S. military presence as previously envisioned, the United States will maintain 5,500 military personnel in Kabul and Bagram, in addition to a limited presence in the east and south of Afghanistan. This decision provides U.S. forces the access and the reach required to implement these two missions effectively in the next year and reflects the U.S. government’s enduring commitment to Afghanistan and its security forces. It also recognizes that the ANDSF will require more time and assistance to develop into a capable, credible, and independent force that can protect the Afghan people and contribute to regional and international security. The continued U.S. presence will also address threats to the homeland from terrorist actors in the region, particularly al Qaeda.

The results from America’s reduced role and the announced pullout date have been poor. According to the Report, “In the second half of 2015, the overall security situation in Afghanistan deteriorated with an increase in effective insurgent attacks and higher ANDSF and Taliban casualties…The Taliban have remained active in their traditional strongholds, namely in Helmand in the south and Logar and Wardak in the east, and also created a sense of instability for brief periods of time in other parts of the country, such as in Kunduz in northern Afghanistan… insurgents are improving in their ability to find and exploit ANDSF vulnerabilities, making the security situation still fragile in key areas and at risk of deterioration in other places.” While the Report notes improvement and some successes for Afghan forces, it is clear that the 2016 pullout is an enormous risk.