The Afghanistan Study Group issued this report last year. I received a copy at a meeting this week and read it cover-to-cover. It’s a succicnt report yet manages to address the key issues at hand. It certainly challenges the conventional wisdom and outlines a new strategy for what has become America’s longest war.
Archive for the ‘Afghanistan’ Category
A Conservative Foreign Policy for America
Right now the biggest threat to the United States is its $14 trillion national debt. Throughout history great powers have bankrupted themselves by trying to do too much both at home and abroad, and unfortunately Washington is charging hard down that same fateful path. What is even more troubling is that when it comes to foreign policy, both major parties tend to advocate big government internationalism. The irony here is that many self-proclaimed conservatives advocate big government internationalism while championing limited government at home.
Yesterday, I outlined a new approach for American foreign policy in The Washington Examiner. It advocates redefining our national interest and reducing our military commitments abroad. Here’s an excerpt:
When it comes to foreign policy,…
Mattis is a Great Pick to be CENTCOM Commander
U.S. Marine Corps General James N. Mattis, who currently serves as the commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, has been selected to lead U.S. Central Command. This is an outstanding pick by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Mattis is an exemplary general officer and a true strategic thinker. Not surprisingly, the mainstream media is beating up on Mattis for some comments he’s made in the past about warfare. His remarks were candid and, unfortunately, have been taken out of context. One misleading headline reads: “James Mattis: ‘It’s fun to shoot some people.’” Here’s the context for the quote:
You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years, because they didn’t wear a veil. You know guys like that ain’t…
Steele’s Failed Critique Highlights Division Among Conservatives on War Strategy
In 2006, I was really pulling for Michael Steele in his battle to win a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland. Unfortunately, Ben Cardin won and Steele wound up running the Republican National Committee. Steele’s odd remarks about the war in Afghanistan have led to a growing number of calls for his resignation among prominent conservatives. The war in Afghanistan was definitely not a war of President Barack Obama’s choosing, as Steele suggested in his remarks at a Connecticut fundraiser. This factual inaccuracy made the rest of Steele’s comments seem off-the-wall, but it appears as though he was trying to challenge the president’s strategy for prosecuting the war. He just failed miserably:
Well if he’s such a…
Karzai’s Ingratitude
From the AP:
President Hamid Karzai urged NATO to do more to protect civilians during combat operations to secure Marjah, a southern Taliban stronghold and scene of the biggest allied ground assault of the eight-year war.
NATO forces have repeatedly said they want to prevent civilian casualties but acknowledged that it is not always possible. On Saturday, the alliance said its troops killed another civilian in the Marjah area, bringing the civilian death toll from the operation to at least 16.
Addressing the opening session of the Afghan parliament in Kabul, Karzai held up a picture of an 8-year-old girl who lost 12 relatives in a NATO rocket attack during the second day of the Marjah assault, which began Feb. 13.
This type of ingratitude from…
How the Obama administration’s lack of credibility is weakening U.S. national security
Since January 20, 2009, American credibility has taken a back seat to the Obama administration’s quest for international popularity. During his trips to the Middle East and Asia last year, President Obama seemed more interested in bolstering his approval ratings abroad than advancing American interests. Last week it was reported that the Obama administration downgraded the priority placed on intelligence collection for China in an effort to increase cooperation with Beijing. This move was made despite the fact that Chinese cyberattacks against the U.S. are on the rise and the leadership in Beijing remains reticent about its massive military modernization program.
Unfortunately, U.S. national security is more dependent on the credibility of American power—and the words and policies of its…
The Best and the Brightest v2.0
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="247" caption="President John F. Kennedy and National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy, 1962"]
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David Halberstam’s 1972 book, The Best and the Brightest, chronicles the origins of the Vietnam War in the Kennedy administration and the conduct and escalation of the war during the Johnson administration. More specifically, it examines how Camelot’s “best and the brightest” got U.S. policy in Southeast Asia so wrong. After all, how could so many smart and capable individuals make such poor foreign policy decisions?
Haunted by the specter of the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the perception that the Democrat’s were responsible for “losing China” to the communists in 1949, the Kennedy administration drew a line against communism in…
Ian Bremmer on Afghanistan, China’s Recovery
Some interesting points from Ian Bremmer, President of the Eurasia Group, on U.S. foreign policy and the global economy. A couple of key takeaways from the interview:
1. Bremmer thinks that Obama will indeed support some type of troop surge in Afghanistan. However, he notes that while a “consesus” approach might work in Washington it won’t work in Afghanistan.
2. China’s economic recovery has been impressive, recently posting third quarter GDP growth of 8.9%.