Obama’s Afghanistan plan prompts questions
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On the day after President Obama unveiled his strategy on Afghanistan, officials went to Congress and the airways to defend it. Yet, questions remain.
The main purpose for Obama’s Tuesday night speech was to sell his new policy to a variety of audiences, domestic and foreign. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs today told reporters that he expected the president to continue to address the issues in coming days and weeks.
Fleshing out the details today was left to other officials including Vice President Joe Biden, who took to the airways. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael G. Mullen and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The essence of the Obama policy is sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan as quickly as possible and turning security over to a trained Afghanistan army and police force so the United States can begin to withdraw troops in July 2011. It also calls for working with the government of President Hamid Karzai to reform itself, making it more acceptable to the Afghans than the resurgent Taliban.
Perhaps the biggest unclear question is: How firm is the July 2011 date for beginning the withdrawal?
“We will execute this transition responsibly, taking into account conditions on the ground,” Obama said Tuesday night, leaving himself some wiggle room.
Officials said the date wasn’t arbitrary.
“I think it’s the judgment of all of us,” Gates said. “that we would be in a position, particularly in uncontested areas, where we would be able to begin that transition” to Afghan forces who would be trained as part of the stepped-up U.S. effort.
It is not clear what happens if the Afghans are not ready to take over responsibility for their own security issues.
“I do not believe we have locked ourselves into leaving,” Clinton said. “But what we have done ... is to signal very clearly to all audiences that the United States is not interested in occupying Afghanistan.”
One key is how well the Karzai government works to reform itself. Both Clinton and Gibbs argued that setting the July 2011 date, in effect, gives Karzai a deadline that he must strive to meet.
“I witnessed President Karzai’s call for a new compact with his country,” said Clinton, who attended Karzai’s inauguration after an election riddled with widespread fraud. “He pledged to combat corruption, improve governance and deliver for the people of his country. His words were long in coming, but they were welcome. They must now be matched with action.”
“The Afghan people, the United States and the international community must hold the Afghan government accountable for making good on these commitments. We will help by working to strengthen institutions at every level of Afghan society so we don’t leave chaos behind when our combat troops begin to depart,” she said.
There are also questions about how quickly the added U.S. forces can get to Afghanistan. While the first contingent of Marines will arrive this month, the full deployment may take until the end of the summer or even early fall, officials said.
The rapid escalation will also mean troops will have less time at home between assignments.
-- Michael Muskal
