The top military commander in Afghanistan warns in a confidential assessment of the war there that he needs additional troops within the next year or else the conflict “will likely result in failure.”
The grim assessment is contained in a 66-page report that the commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, submitted to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Aug. 30, and which is now under review by President Obama and his top national security advisers.
McChrystal concludes the document’s five-page Commander’s Summary on a note of muted optimism: “While the situation is serious, success is still achievable.”
But he repeatedly warns that without more forces and the rapid implementation of a genuine counterinsurgency strategy, defeat is likely. McChrystal describes an Afghan government riddled with corruption and an international force undermined by tactics that alienate civilians.
A senior adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the government was not against more international troops being sent – but their success would depend on where they were sent.
“Our official stance is that until our security forces are strengthened, both in terms of numbers and quality, there won’t be a long-lasting peace in Afghanistan,” Sebghatullah Sanjar told the BBC.
Image by army.mil.
Josh Nathan-Kazis
Josh Nathan-Kazis was the editor of New Voices magazine from 2007-2009. He is a regular contributor to WBAI’s Beyond the Pale. He has written on Israel/Palestine, the decline of the American fraternal order, and development at the Brookln Navy Yard, among other issues. Email: ...
Read more about Josh Nathan-Kazis ->
