Growing Pessimism on Afghanistan
By Douglas Farah
It is unusual to have several high-level administration officials in the same week predict gloom and gloom on one of the major battle fronts in the war against al Qaeda and armed Islamic militants. But that is what has happened in recent days on Afghanistan.
President Bush's surprise visit to Kabul earlier this week did not blunt the impact of the unusual 1-2-3 punch this week delivered as he was en route. Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; John Negroponte; and the State Department all painted a bleak picture of what is happening in that country, something my sources both in Europe and Pakistan have been worried about-and warning about-for almost a year. And they warn it is likely to get much worse this year.
The causes are multiple: Resources siphoned off to Iraq; a growing opium trade providing massive revenue streams for regional warlords who owe no loyalty to the central government or the democratic process; a rejuvinated Taliban drawing strength from both Pashtuns in Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions and a renewed influx of Arab jihadist fighters and money; and a changing of the guard on the ground as NATO takes over for some of the U.S. Special Forces carrying out the brunt of the combat.
While it is a welcome sign of well-deserved concern that senior leaders are publicly acknowledging the problem, there seems to be little being done to actually try to turn the situation around. The full blog is here.
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It is unusual to have several high-level administration officials in the same week predict gloom and gloom on one of the major battle fronts in the war against al Qaeda and armed Islamic militants. But that is w... [Read More]
