Who’s In Charge?

The CBS site is carrying this story: Secret Report Urges New Afghanistan Policy

(The Politico) The Pentagon’s top military officers are recommending to President Barack Obama that he shift U.S. strategy in Afghanistan – to focus on ensuring regional stability and eliminating Taliban and al Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan, rather than on achieving lasting democracy and a thriving Afghan economy, officials said.

This is a brain-dead attempt to undercut the new administration if it is true. This will result in some very nasty blow-back in Pakistan and endanger the security of their nuclear arsenal. We will probably lose the land link to Afghanistan in the near future. There will be a coup and riots in Pakistan. International support for the Afghan mission will be lost and we won’t have gained a thing, while al Qaeda will have two countries and possibly nuclear weapons with which to threaten the world.

You have to finish the job in Afghanistan. If Afghanistan is rebuilt, and Afghan security forces can be trained and equipped, they can control their own space without outside help. Leaving behind a devastated country after the Soviets were pushed out allowed the growth of the Taliban and al Qaeda. We need to stop making the same mistakes repeatedly. If a reasonable infrastructure can be constructed in the country, i.e. roads, water and sewer, power, and communications, the form of government can be sorted out by the people. They may not be ready for democracy, but only they know that, so they should decide.

Move people in to stop the cross-border movement and stop attacking targets in Pakistan.  Get boots on the ground and stop depending on air strikes.  Let’s try going after bad guys without killing innocent people. You are not going to get local cooperation if the people think a tip will lead to air strikes that might kill members of their family.