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bystanders_medium.jpg "Unseen French paratroopers are watched by Afghan bystanders as they patrol in the village of Surobi. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)")
News Analysis—For the past few days the public has been bombarded by news of fighting in the Gaza strip. If you consume your news like most Americans, you’re likely to hear or see at least one story about the battle raging between Israel and Palestine. It’s important on the world stage, yet the fixation on what’s happening there could be a distraction from impending doom in other countries.
Consider if you will, Afghanistan. In 2001, the U.S. moved swiftly into the country to bring down the Taliban. All eyes were on the Middle Eastern country, waiting and watching for the capture or death of Osama bin Laden, who was believed to be hiding there. Today, Bin Laden still eludes and even taunts his would-be captors, as evidenced in a recent tape believed to be of him calling for more war against the west.
What also eludes us is a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan. With the current trend in military spending and troop commitments, there seems to be no end to its people’s struggles in sight.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates puts the estimated total for 2009 at $136 billion, according to the Associated Press. In a letter earlier this month to congressional leaders, Gates said his “personal assessment” is that $70 billion more will be needed in addition to the $66 billion already approved last year.
During a January 13 press briefing, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters that the U.S. government’s plan to send four more brigade combat teams, a combat aviation brigade and their enablers “will make a real difference on the ground in Afghanistan”.
The additional 20,000 to 30,000 troops will basically double U.S. forces in Afghanistan. That means Americans will shoulder half of the responsibility for the almost 100,000 coalition forces in the country. There are currently about 70,000 NATO and American troops there today.
“That [troop increase] cannot help but make a difference,” Morrell said during the briefing.
It’s all part of a plan that includes recruiting local militias, in a move borrowed from the troop ‘surge’ in Iraq. The premise was that former Sunni insurgents could be brought around, for the right price. The practice was that about 100,000 Sunnis, part of Awakening Councils, have been armed, put on patrol, and put on the U.S. payroll. Subsequent security improvements aside, Afghanistan is a different animal, and similar efforts might not work there.
Consider if you will, Afghanistan. In 2001, the U.S. moved swiftly into the country to bring down the Taliban. All eyes were on the Middle Eastern country, waiting and watching for the capture or death of Osama bin Laden, who was believed to be hiding there. Today, Bin Laden still eludes and even taunts his would-be captors, as evidenced in a recent tape believed to be of him calling for more war against the west.
What also eludes us is a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan. With the current trend in military spending and troop commitments, there seems to be no end to its people’s struggles in sight.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates puts the estimated total for 2009 at $136 billion, according to the Associated Press. In a letter earlier this month to congressional leaders, Gates said his “personal assessment” is that $70 billion more will be needed in addition to the $66 billion already approved last year.
During a January 13 press briefing, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters that the U.S. government’s plan to send four more brigade combat teams, a combat aviation brigade and their enablers “will make a real difference on the ground in Afghanistan”.
The additional 20,000 to 30,000 troops will basically double U.S. forces in Afghanistan. That means Americans will shoulder half of the responsibility for the almost 100,000 coalition forces in the country. There are currently about 70,000 NATO and American troops there today.
“That [troop increase] cannot help but make a difference,” Morrell said during the briefing.
It’s all part of a plan that includes recruiting local militias, in a move borrowed from the troop ‘surge’ in Iraq. The premise was that former Sunni insurgents could be brought around, for the right price. The practice was that about 100,000 Sunnis, part of Awakening Councils, have been armed, put on patrol, and put on the U.S. payroll. Subsequent security improvements aside, Afghanistan is a different animal, and similar efforts might not work there.
