Debates and Prescriptions for Afghanistan

Two developments over the weekend have stirred the debate over Afghanistan. First, 300 guerillas attacked two remote outposts killing eight U.S. troops and four Afghan security personnel. Second, former Deputy Special Representative of the U.N. to Afghanistan Peter Galbraith wrote an op-ed describing the circumstances of his dismissal, which he says was due to his insistence the U.N. should “respond to the massive electoral fraud” in Afghanistan. He laments that while the elections “should have been a milestone in the country’s transition from 30 years of war to stability and democracy,” the U.N.’s refusal to combat election fraud “has handed the Taliban its greatest strategic victory in eight years.”

In response to Galbraith, Juan Cole asserts “government legitimacy and efficiency” are essential for the counter-insurgency campaign. He also reports Abdullah Abdullah has strengthened his resolve in protesting the election given the revelations in Galbraith’s article.

In an article suggesting President Obama should wait for the political situations in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan to clarify before making any strategic decisions, Andrew Sullivan decries the notion of a stable, central Afghan government as “insane.” Peter Preston also doubts whether the U.S. can “remake a rotten government, produce firm structures of clean administration, recruit, train and motivate huge indigenous civil authorities, Afghan soldiers and police.” In an article arguing for greater cooperation between the U.S. and Afghanistan’s neighbors, Henry Kissinger joins the central government skeptics, questioning whether Afghanistan can uphold a strong, central government in the near-term.

The New York Times has released a diverse list of ten policy prescriptions to win in Afghanistan. Among them, David Kilcullen argues the U.S. must either force the Afghan government to reform and gain legitimacy or draw down our troops, Anthony Cordesman suggests the U.S. should bolster local police forces and justice systems, Nader Nadery calls for a reinvigorated campaign to stamp out corruption and Gretchen Peters prescribes a focused effort to build an Afghan tax infrastructure.

Matthew Yglesias contends the international community must rethink tariffs on Afghan goods that stunt its economy and rejects the dialectic that the U.S. must choose between either President Hamid Karzai or the Taliban controlling all of Afghanistan.