Afghanistan: Strategy Decision Coming Soon

Marc Ambinder reports President Obama conducted his ninth and final war cabinet meeting last night. According to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, “President Obama has the information he wants and needs to make his decision and he will announce that decision within days.” It is increasingly expected the President will announce a troop increase somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000. Meanwhile, Ambassador Holbrooke announced that Obama has nearly tripled the number of civilian personnel in Afghanistan since coming into office and he assured that “the civilian effort is going quite well.” The civilian effort, as well as Ambassador Holbrooke, have been receiving criticism recently (see our previous post).

Fred Kaplan at Slate throws his support behind bolstering the role of the Afghan tribes in fighting the Taliban. Kaplan argues that “the United States’ approach of the last seven years - focusing on Kabul and the buildup of Afghanistan’s national army and police force – is wrongheaded and doomed.” Among other benefits, a tribal solution would not rely so heavily on “the political fortunes of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.” But Michael Crowley at The Plank wonders whether the U.S. has the resolve to stay long enough to see an Afghan Awakening succeed.

Alexander Benard urges President Obama to mend his relationship with Karzai so that he will be “in a better position to push and prod” Karzai. According to Benard, “a strong partnership with Karzai is critical if the United States is going to make any progress in improving Afghan governance, rooting out corruption, and succeeding against the Taliban insurgency.” Finally, Juan Cole cites Saleem Safi writing in Pakistan’s The News who explains that the U.S. is failing in Afghanistan because of its “ignorance about the social, religious and cultural values of Afghan people.” He also points to an Al Jazeera English debate over how much authority Karzai actually wields in Afghanistan.