By Kenneth J. Theisen
General Stanley McChrystal, who was picked by President Obama to head up Obama’s war team in Afghanistan, has completed his review of operations within that war-ravaged nation. His report has been forwarded to War Secretary Robert Gates, who will forward it to the President on September 2nd.
The invasion of Afghanistan took place in October 2001 and yet the U.S. war machine has been unable to achieve victory. While on the campaign trail, Obama made it clear that he would escalate the war there to achieve U.S. goals. Shortly after taking office he announced escalation of the war and has been increasing the number of U.S. troops since then.
The current report will not call for additional troops at this time. The intent of the report is to lay the political groundwork for a later, separate troop increase request.
In announcing the completion of his review and report, McChrystal stated, "The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort." Obama handpicked McChrystal in June 2009 to replace David McKiernan. McKiernan was the first general in an active war zone to be openly fired since Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War. Obama expects McChrystal to turn around U.S. fortunes and this review is seen as a crucial step in that process.
The review has also been sent to U.S. CentCom, the military’s central command, and to NATO headquarters (thousands of NATO forces are deployed in Afghanistan and McChrystal also commands all NATO forces there). While the report is still not public, McChrystal indicated its tenor at an event last week. He is reported by the BBC to have compared the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan to a bull charging a matador and after each charge the bull is slightly weakened with each cut it receives. He is not the first U.S. official to speak openly of the U.S. failing effort in Afghanistan. And the American public is pessimistic about the U.S. role in Afghanistan. A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll indicates that only 49% of those polled now think the war in Afghanistan is worthwhile.
But do not expect this review to call for the U.S. to retreat from the war there. It is very likely that McChrystal will later recommend additional troop increases over the next year. He has already said that U.S. allied Afghan puppet forces need to be bolstered. He has said that the Afghan army will need at least three more years to reach sufficient size and capability to take the lead in the war there. He has also stated that the Afghan national police will need even more time.
By the end of the year, the U.S. will have at least 68,000 troops in Afghanistan. There are also about 100,000 NATO troops on the ground (some NATO forces are also U.S. forces). Part of the reason that McChrystal was picked for his current job is that within the ruling class he is considered an expert in counter-insurgency (COIN) strategy. Such strategy requires more troops within Afghanistan to be effectively implemented according to ruling class “experts.”
The COIN strategy that the U.S. intends to use calls for the taking of villages from the Taliban and then for the U.S. and allied forces to hold the ground taken. This requires many more forces than are currently deployed by the U.S. in Afghanistan. This plan is modeled on the strategy put into place by General David Petraeus when he commanded U.S. forces within Iraq. Petraeus is now McChrystal’s commander at CentCom.
COIN strategy calls for winning the “heart and minds” of the population while protecting the population controlled by the U.S. puppet government. This strategy was attempted and often referred to during the Vietnam War by U.S. leaders. It is likely to have the similar results in Afghanistan as it did in Vietnam. In its attempt to “win the hearts and minds” of the Vietnamese, the U.S. managed to kill 2-3 million of them.
World Can’t Wait will continue to report on the McChrystal review and will analyze it once it is published.