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The Neocon Redemption: AEI's Bid to Save Afghanistan

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI)—bastion of neocon thought, leading Iraq war pusher, and (a day late and a penny short) deviser of the "surge" strategy that at least helped mitigate some of the resulting carnage—is now focusing its collected wisdom on the war in Afghanistan. As Sean Naylor reports in the latest issue of the Navy Times, AEI's Afghanistan Planning Group, an assemblage of about "two dozen" experts, concluded three days of meetings on January 27. The project was led by Fred Kagan, one of the chief architects of "Choosing Victory—A Plan For Success in Iraq," which formed the basis of the Bush administration's decision to send 30,000 additional troops to Iraq early last year. Conservatives have lauded the "success" of the Iraq surge as evidence of a turnaround in American fortunes there. (Others, it should be pointed out, see the diminishing violence as a logical result of the ferocious ethnic cleansing that burned through Iraqi neighborhoods in the past couple of years.) AEI insists that the group's work was undertaken independent of the White House, but acknowledged that the official findings, which have so far not been released publicly, will be shared with government officials in the coming weeks.

According to Naylor in the Navy Times, those findings include:

* Deploy an extra U.S. brigade into Kandahar and a Marine battalion into Helmand in 2008 and maintain that force level through 2009. Some 28,000 U.S. troops are now in Afghanistan, about half the total coalition force there.

* Deploy two extra brigade combat teams into southern Afghanistan in 2009.

* Expand the Afghan National Army more quickly than currently planned, using U.S. money if necessary.

* Provide NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban are strongest, with the necessary “enablers” such as engineers, aviation, surveillance and command and control assets.

* Use Commander’s Emergency Response Program money to build forward operating bases for Afghan National Army units in eastern and southern Afghanistan.

Naylor also describes two significant policy changes proposed by AEI:

* Threatening the Pakistanis with unilateral U.S. strikes into Pakistani territory unless the Pakistanis take the initiative to clear al-Qaida’s safe havens themselves.

* Making U.S. military aid to Pakistan — which is largely aimed at bolstering Pakistan’s conventional forces that are focused on the perceived threat from India — contingent on the Pakistani government asserting itself throughout the Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province, as well as in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which have traditionally enjoyed autonomy.

This last one seems to have been accounted for in the latest Defense Appropriations Bill, namely in the $75 million appropriation for Pakistan's "Frontier Corps," a paramilitary force in Pakistan's tribal area. As in the case of our newfound friends in Anbar province, some question the wisdom of pouring money into a force of uncertain (and historically shifting) loyalty.

Comments

the neo-cons appear to live on another planet, with different laws of nature and economics.

they certainly are not talking about the world we live in, and i know this because i subscribe to the AEI newsletter, so i know what they're up to.

they can certainly wake you up while you're having your first coffee of the day ...

... here's one of their little gems to make your eyes bulge in disbelief:

"We need to be patient and maintain the security progress in Iraq that clears the way for political progress"
http://www.aei.org/publication27383

enjoy ;)

Posted by: eleanor on 02/04/08 at 3:33 PM Respond

This is from what Elanore posted:
“The strain on the U.S. military is great, and we are all concerned. But sustaining 15 brigades in Iraq for six more months or another year will not break the force.”
Is that a time table? Seriously, with these people 6 months will turn into 6 years. Until they define “winning”, there is no reason to listen to them.

“Al-Qaeda in Iraq is working hard to regroup,”
Actually, they are not doing anything. They don’t need to “win”. All they need to do is not loose. And they can not loose for another 2, 10 or 20 years while we search to define “victory” (let alone obtain it).

Posted by: kirkbrew on 02/05/08 at 6:37 AM Respond

Ever heard in history of a declared war but one none showed up to fight? People who never fight in a war have sent us into one; make that two or more. Countless rotations of people caught in the net of the national guard have resulted in people leaving and for the "regular" military, reduced enlistments and burnouts. Military hardware? Wornout, chewed up, shot up and broken down. Rumsfeld sent them in unprepared even though prior war games showed they would be defeated because of the "army they had". Inexperienced war leaders get people killed. Gung-ho inexperienced war leaders get people wasted. Fanatical gung-ho inexperienced war leaders give us things like Iraq, Afganistan and the "war on terror" propaganda. Privatized shadow armies run amok. Profiteering corporations make billions. A broken citizen soldier? Flush them out with nothing. As a Vietnam vet, I've seen this all before. These were the real lessons shown to us back then curtesy of an Imperial Presidency and the military industrial complex. However, Johnson showed us little compared to these outright criminals getting away with murder, treason and profiteering to name just a few of the legalities. It appears more evident with the passing of each day that the laws are to be obeyed by the "unwashed mob" as this country is turned into the "haves" and the "have nots" started with Reagan and continuing unabetted through the reign of the "Village Idiot". The stage has been set to continue down this path by corporate media choosing who will "get a chance to be heard" and their message delivered to the average citizen. The election machines put into place by the crooked powerful will help facilitate the process. What to do? Fight them by exposing them. Somewhere, there is the information waiting to see the light of day. Maybe someone knows of someone? Point them out to others. Publish their addresses, pictures to the web. Know of a document? Post it. Expose the secrets. Make waves.

Posted by: Jay Coleman on 02/05/08 at 7:27 AM Respond

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Posted by: 岡山　不動産 on 07/28/08 at 11:29 PM Respond

出会いサイト

Posted by: 出会いサイト on 08/12/08 at 10:32 PM Respond

出会いサイト

Posted by: 出会いサイト on 08/12/08 at 10:33 PM Respond