Post by scorpion42 on Jul 4, 2009 14:30:25 GMT -7
www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.384071f0290883a90e917798626fa8de.91&show_article=1
Offensive is first test for Obama's Afghanistan strategy
Jul 4 12:06 PM US/Eastern
The US military offensive launched in Afghanistan's south this week is the first step in President Barack Obama's new strategy in a war he has described as a key priority for his administration.
Around 4,000 Marines are involved in the massive operation launched Thursday in southern Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold.
Operation Khanjar ("Strike of the Sword") is part of the new White House strategy for Afghanistan, which is intended to curb an insurgency that has grown stronger and more lethal over the last few years.
Commanders on the ground say the operation's immediate objective is to improve security in Afghanistan's most volatile region and ensure that presidential elections scheduled for August proceed smoothly.
In the longer term, the military wants to secure sufficient stability to allow economic and political development, regain the trust of the local population and transfer responsibility for the country's security to local forces.
"Ultimately, there needs to be an economic and a governance solution," US Vice President Joe Biden said during a surprise visit to Iraq on Thursday.
"Military forces are necessary but not sufficient" for success in Afghanistan, he added.
The outcome of this first offensive will be key for Obama, who has maintained that Afghanistan is the central front in the US war on terror.
His position on Afghanistan contrasts sharply with his predecessor George W. Bush, who set the war in Iraq as his presidency's top military priority.
Obama has ordered the deployment of 21,000 additional US troops and hundreds of development experts to Afghanistan with the goal of defeating the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and developing Afghan institutions in a bid to bolster the country so that it can ensure its own security.
The number of US troops on the ground will nearly double between 2008 and the end of 2009 to 68,000, out of a 100,000-strong foreign military contingent in Afghanistan.
A new commander of international forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has been named to oversee the strategy.
McChrystal is also charged with trying to reduce the number of incidents in which US military personnel accidentally kill civilians, events that fuel growing resentment from the local population.
Success in Afghanistan is important not only for the Afghan population, but also for war-weary Americans, the Obama administration has insisted.
"I think what we are saying simply is that we think that the strategy needs to show some signs that it's working," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told lawmakers during a June congressional hearing.
"It's very important for us to be able to show the American people that we are moving forward by the end of the year or a year from now," he said.
"I think the American people will be willing to sustain this endeavor if they believe it's not just a stalemate."
But some remain skeptical that the new strategy will be successful.
"The new strategy will have to convince me that (it) is really a new strategy," said a senior European officer from NATO's Afghanistan force -- the International Security Assistance Force.
"For the moment, we have not seen a big difference on the ground, except for more of everything: more troops, more equipment, more money... This will lead to an increase in civilian and military casualties, which will not improve their image."
Video:
www.breitbart.tv/valley-of-death-nbc-news-crew-captures-major-firefight-inside-afghanistan/
Offensive is first test for Obama's Afghanistan strategy
Jul 4 12:06 PM US/Eastern
The US military offensive launched in Afghanistan's south this week is the first step in President Barack Obama's new strategy in a war he has described as a key priority for his administration.
Around 4,000 Marines are involved in the massive operation launched Thursday in southern Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold.
Operation Khanjar ("Strike of the Sword") is part of the new White House strategy for Afghanistan, which is intended to curb an insurgency that has grown stronger and more lethal over the last few years.
Commanders on the ground say the operation's immediate objective is to improve security in Afghanistan's most volatile region and ensure that presidential elections scheduled for August proceed smoothly.
In the longer term, the military wants to secure sufficient stability to allow economic and political development, regain the trust of the local population and transfer responsibility for the country's security to local forces.
"Ultimately, there needs to be an economic and a governance solution," US Vice President Joe Biden said during a surprise visit to Iraq on Thursday.
"Military forces are necessary but not sufficient" for success in Afghanistan, he added.
The outcome of this first offensive will be key for Obama, who has maintained that Afghanistan is the central front in the US war on terror.
His position on Afghanistan contrasts sharply with his predecessor George W. Bush, who set the war in Iraq as his presidency's top military priority.
Obama has ordered the deployment of 21,000 additional US troops and hundreds of development experts to Afghanistan with the goal of defeating the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and developing Afghan institutions in a bid to bolster the country so that it can ensure its own security.
The number of US troops on the ground will nearly double between 2008 and the end of 2009 to 68,000, out of a 100,000-strong foreign military contingent in Afghanistan.
A new commander of international forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has been named to oversee the strategy.
McChrystal is also charged with trying to reduce the number of incidents in which US military personnel accidentally kill civilians, events that fuel growing resentment from the local population.
Success in Afghanistan is important not only for the Afghan population, but also for war-weary Americans, the Obama administration has insisted.
"I think what we are saying simply is that we think that the strategy needs to show some signs that it's working," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told lawmakers during a June congressional hearing.
"It's very important for us to be able to show the American people that we are moving forward by the end of the year or a year from now," he said.
"I think the American people will be willing to sustain this endeavor if they believe it's not just a stalemate."
But some remain skeptical that the new strategy will be successful.
"The new strategy will have to convince me that (it) is really a new strategy," said a senior European officer from NATO's Afghanistan force -- the International Security Assistance Force.
"For the moment, we have not seen a big difference on the ground, except for more of everything: more troops, more equipment, more money... This will lead to an increase in civilian and military casualties, which will not improve their image."
Video:
www.breitbart.tv/valley-of-death-nbc-news-crew-captures-major-firefight-inside-afghanistan/