Submit your comments on this article |
Home Front: Politix |
A Democrat's new plan for Iraq troop withdrawal: Move them to Afghanistan |
2007-12-25 |
Congressman Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, introduced a resolution this week calling for withdrawal of an unspecified number of troops from Iraq in order to build U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Smith told me:
Smith got a chance to ask military leaders about Afghanistan last week during a hearing before the Armed Services Committee. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the committee that the U.S. military's focus was "rightly and firmly in Iraq."
Smith said that for every dollar the U.S. spends in Iraq, it spends less than 28 cents in Afghanistan. There are clearly problems in Afghanistan. (And more on that in a moment.) But I'm sure no one will be surprised that part of the motivation for the resolution -- co-sponsored by Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Missouri -- is rhetorical. Says Smith:
Smith said debate about whether the surge is working is largely academic.
The disparity between the number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, countries roughly the same size, makes no sense, Smith said.
("The gods of irony are apparently watching Congress these days," writes Reid Wilson at RealClearPolitics. "The measure has been designated House Resolution 911.") So what is the situation in Afghanistan? Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared before the Armed Services Committee and summed it up by saying there was "reason for optimism tempered by caution. Our progress in Afghanistan is real but fragile." On the progress side, Gates told the committee that more Afghans have access to health care with construction of hundreds of clinics and hospitals. Under the Taliban, fewer than one million children were in school. Now there are more than five million. There is a central bank and unified currency. More than four million Afghan refugees have returned to their country. And here's the bad news, which sounds a bit worse than fragile:
Smith said he had not yet taken the resolution to House leadership. When Congress returns from recess he will look for more co-sponsors for the resolution. |
Posted by:Anonymoose |
#4 The Onion had a good suggestion for a withdrawal plan a couple of years ago. "'We'll just go East, through Iran,' Bush said." |
Posted by: Eric Jablow 2007-12-25 20:22 |
#3 What's wrong with Okinawa? |
Posted by: John Q. Murtha 2007-12-25 12:11 |
#2 This might be a good idea, if for the wrong reasons. That is, redeploying personnel to Afghanistan if they are no longer needed in Iraq would allow them to stay in theater instead of sending them to Europe or the US. While Afghanistan may not need them directly, they would strongly impact both Iran and Pakistan. Iran would then have two "major" fronts to worry about, that is, US ground forces in two countries instead of ground forces in one and an airbase in the other. Plus Afghanistan could be policed up and repaired faster, and its border with Pakistan secured more, so that the Pak army could "hammer into anvil" its own problems. We could severely crunch the opium production and secure the Pushtun South so that it is less troublesome. Management of the Pushtun could be much like how General Crook managed the Apaches, cutting those not loyal to the central government off from the Taliban and drug gangs into what would amount to reservations. |
Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-12-25 11:29 |
#1 So many foreign policy "geniuses" in that congress. Those liberal arts degrees and law degrees make a military tactics expert almost overnight. Heck, if they keep it up and continue to step over the executive branch, may as well get rid of the pentagon, the generals, the president, and let congress run it all since they are so "competent" in such matters. the bright ideas club strikes again. |
Posted by: newc 2007-12-25 11:20 |