Obama war cabinet finalises Afghan review
Focus on reinforcing Pakistan’s efforts to crackdown on al Qaeda.
WASHINGTON:
President Barack Obama finalised his Afghan strategy review with his war cabinet on Tuesday.
Participating, either in person or by teleconference, were Vice-President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, CIA Director Leon Panetta, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen, US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, Army Gen David Petraeus, the top ground commander in Afghanistan, and other military and diplomatic officials.
Terming the hard-charging Holbrooke a giant icon of US diplomacy, Obama said that his war plan must now go ahead without input from the man masterminding a civilian “surge” in Afghanistan.
This week’s review will be watched carefully in Congress, where members of the Democratic Party are growing restless about the war.
The Obama administration, according to one Western diplomat, had “gotten better” at consulting allies on Afghanistan. A vital plank of Obama’s new strategy was also reinvigorating Pakistan’s efforts to crackdown on al Qaeda.
Obama’s report will be closely parsed for its stance towards Islamabad after an administration report to Congress this year charged that its forces were avoiding “direct conflict”.
Since then, Obama has sacked his former top war general Stanley McChrystal for insubordination, seen his administration wage public spats with Karzai and traveled twice to Afghanistan. But the review may leave fundamental questions unanswered: including; are US gains sustainable? Will Afghan forces merge into a true fighting force? Will the Taliban simply outwait foreign soldiers?
With additional input from Reuters and UPI
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2010.
President Barack Obama finalised his Afghan strategy review with his war cabinet on Tuesday.
Participating, either in person or by teleconference, were Vice-President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, CIA Director Leon Panetta, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen, US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, Army Gen David Petraeus, the top ground commander in Afghanistan, and other military and diplomatic officials.
Terming the hard-charging Holbrooke a giant icon of US diplomacy, Obama said that his war plan must now go ahead without input from the man masterminding a civilian “surge” in Afghanistan.
This week’s review will be watched carefully in Congress, where members of the Democratic Party are growing restless about the war.
The Obama administration, according to one Western diplomat, had “gotten better” at consulting allies on Afghanistan. A vital plank of Obama’s new strategy was also reinvigorating Pakistan’s efforts to crackdown on al Qaeda.
Obama’s report will be closely parsed for its stance towards Islamabad after an administration report to Congress this year charged that its forces were avoiding “direct conflict”.
Since then, Obama has sacked his former top war general Stanley McChrystal for insubordination, seen his administration wage public spats with Karzai and traveled twice to Afghanistan. But the review may leave fundamental questions unanswered: including; are US gains sustainable? Will Afghan forces merge into a true fighting force? Will the Taliban simply outwait foreign soldiers?
With additional input from Reuters and UPI
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2010.