Word: afghanization
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...entire region that it has become America's biggest foreign policy challenge. On Feb. 18, President Obama committed an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan; when they all arrive, there will be about 55,000 troops there from the U.S., plus 37,000 from its allies. The latest Afghan war is now Obama's war. The Administration has signaled that it is downsizing expectations about what can still be achieved: the principal goal now is to counter terrorism and bring a degree of stability to Afghanistan - not to turn a poor and fractious nation into a flourishing democratic state. When...
Honest Infidels Blindfolded and handcuffed, the man crouched on the ground, surrounded by Afghan soldiers and their U.S. Marine mentors. He had been found with insurgent propaganda and a Taliban flag and had a bruise on his shoulder - the kind the Afghan soldiers recognized from their days of carrying AK-47s while fighting Soviet forces more than 20 years ago. He said he was an illiterate shepherd, but he had a notebook full of writing. He claimed never to have visited Pakistan, but his mobile phone was filled with Pakistani numbers. Most likely, he was an insurgent...
Other than leading by example, the military can do little to bolster faith in the state. As part of his plan, Obama has proposed a civilian surge - a phalanx of mentors for the Afghans. Much of the more than $32 billion that the U.S. government has spent in aid to Afghanistan since 2002 has gone through the military or its provincial reconstruction teams. The projects are designed to earn goodwill for foreign forces as much as for local governors, but they also have the unintended consequence of undermining the central government, which never gets a chance to take credit...
...government in which people have hope would be one that offers them security. The U.S. exit strategy for Afghanistan, according to Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is to strengthen the Afghan forces so they can protect the fragile advances of the government. To that end, Obama has pledged 4,000 trainers and mentors, and European allies have promised more military trainers to help boost the Afghan National Army (ANA) and police...
...Korengal shows why effective troops and police are needed. Lieutenant Burkey's evening operation to Loi Kolay was supposed to include a squad of Afghan soldiers. But at the last minute, the ANA commander pulled out, saying his men weren't up to it. Howell has seen that sort of thing before. "A lot of times, the ANA commanders want to do the bare minimum," he says. "It's frustrating because this is a way for them to start working with the elders, the community. If they can't make that connection, then we won't be able to hand...