Gates is the first senior U.S. official to meet with Karzai since Obama announced the new strategy in Afghanistan.
The stability of the Afghan government will be an important element in the scheduled July 2011 troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Afterwards, the country and its security forces will be responsible for fending off the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Following the Afghan elections in August, the legitimacy of Afghanistan’s leadership was under question. According to the American Forces Press Services, Gates expressed confidence in the Afghan government, saying, “There is a tendency to paint this government with too broad a brush.”
Questions Back Home
Along with the meeting between Karzai and Gates, concerns surrounding the strategy were discussed in a separate meeting on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. The House held a hearing on the strategy in Afghanistan with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and General Stanley McChrystal.
Establishing a system for the Afghanis to tackle corruption “is something we have to make progress on over the next 24 months,” said Eikenberry.
Afghanistan was primarily ruled by a tribal system until recently. According to Eikenberry, progress has been made in building the Afghan government over the last seven years.
He said that stopping corruption in the region is “our most difficult task” and that the challenge of government accountability is “daunting,” yet essential for success.
The Troop Surge
A key concern about the troop surge is whether more troops will be requested at the end of Obama’s two-year time frame for the war, with and endpoint in July 2011.
McChrystal said he does not believe additional U.S. forces will be needed after the two-year deadline is met, adding that he will give his “best military advice,” according to the situation.
He added that the July deadline is not an “impeding factor,” but is instead “a bit of a forcing function” to work quickly.
The current strategy is to use resources within the troop surge to train the Afghan Security Forces—who will be entrusted to fend off the Taliban and corruption following troop withdrawal. “I believe that the key point here is the long-term strategic partnership with Afghanistan,” said McChrystal.
In addition to the 30,000 U.S. troops headed for Afghanistan, an additional 7,000 troops are expected from the 43 allied nations working with the United States.
He said “because we are a coalition there, we have additional credit with the Afghan people,” adding that they know a coalition is not an occupying force like the Soviet Union.
Working Against Time
The House raised a possibility that Taliban fighters could lay dormant for two years until after the troops withdraw, and questioned whether threats from the Taliban would stop Afghan citizens from supporting the new government.
McChrystal acknowledged that Taliban coercion and threats are an issue in the region, but added that according to polls, the Taliban is not popular among the Afghanis. “They succeed largely on their coercion,” he said.
If the Taliban decides to wait out the troop surge and lay dormant for the next two years, McChrystal said that in the meantime, the U.S. and its allies will be helping the Afghanis establish a solid government and security forces meant to fight the Taliban. “They really cannot afford to wait,” he said, adding that the “insurgents who might have waited patiently” will be met with a strong Afghan government and its security forces.
In addition, a system will be established to help Taliban fighters leave the Taliban, yet according to McChrystal, its success will rely on the Afghan government.
“This is a shared responsibility. Afghanistan belongs to Afghans,” said McChrystal.
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