Dr. David Petraeus isn’t the sole authority or executor for the “Iraqi Surge”, Fredrick W. Kagan at the American Enterprise Institute had a major share in the restoration of the American threat deterrent by strengthening the application of policy oversight. To say he’s an authority is an understatement, so his latest opinion revealing the dearth of team Obama’s (mis)informed policy to withdrawal from the interior of Southwest Asia is well placed given tonight’s ‘State of the Union’ speech.
The Soviet installed government of Najibullah fell three years after the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan and was permanently weakened when Soviet finances abandoned its commitment. Kagan notes that Iraqi’s al-Maliki began moving against indigenous Shia along the Iraqi interior, 24 hours after the departure of the last American.
A feckless executive without the intellectual preparation to ‘grind-out’ American C.O.I.N. strategy reveals the dangerous association of overtly politicizing American war aims.
We’re beginning to see what happens when you befriend an American.
The roll-out of American policy isn’t hard to discern: we’re quitting. This is NOT lost on Damascus, Beijing, Moscow or any other despotic lunatic with cable tv.
Our security at home is tied to our presence throughout the interior of Southwest Asia. Al Qaeda’s leadership is battered yet defiant, Pakistani policy remains grounded in ideological militancy, Kabul has a very unpopular executive.
The list goes on. . .
The American’s have made impressive gains in Afghan C.O.I.N., only to abandon them to American domestic political vagaries. The A.N.S.F. (Afghan National Security Forces) have made impressive gains, but are still unable to defeat a domestic insurgency, nor function independently without massive foreign aid.
Kagan notes that Afghan political institutions are desperate to have American help. They have welcomed a bilateral security agreement that in effect strengthens American C.O.I.N. & C.T. (counter-terror) posture.
The reason why we’re abandoning Afghanistan is because it’s politically convenient!! The American political class has lost its bearings. (Does this sound familiar!!)
The fact is, our executive has decided that his policy advisors prevent HIM from having to discern tough choices.
Al Qaeda and its affiliates are anticipating our imminent defeat! Another Superpower falls in Asia (so the propaganda goes).
This is what Fredrick W. Kagan sees: withdrawal from Afghanistan and you usher in defeat.
Its really that simple.
William Holland
William Holland 