Word: nato
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...planning a visit. You might call it the invisible man approach to building foreign policy credentials. While security around the presidential palace in the capital was amplified in anticipation that Obama would meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, no one at the palace, in the US embassy, at NATO headquarters in the country or in the US military would confirm his pending visit...
...will send at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan and use this commitment to seek greater contributions--with fewer restrictions--from NATO allies. I will focus on training Afghan security forces and supporting an Afghan judiciary. I will once and for all dismantle al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The solution in Afghanistan is not just military--it is political and economic. That is why I would also increase our nonmilitary aid by $1 billion. These resources should fund projects at the local level to impact ordinary Afghans, including the development of alternative livelihoods for poppy farmers. And we must...
...commanders in Afghanistan say they need at least three additional brigades. I will ensure they get the troops they need by asking NATO to send more and sending U.S. troops as they become available. But more than troops, we need a unified command and a nationwide civil-military campaign plan that is focused on providing security for the population. A successful counterinsurgency requires that we use all the instruments of our national power and that military and civilian leaders work together, at all levels, under a joint plan. Too often in Afghanistan, this is not happening. We need an Afghanistan...
Finally, we need a stronger and sustained partnership between Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO to secure the border, to take out terrorist camps and to crack down on cross-border insurgents. We should condition some assistance to Pakistan on their action to take the fight to the terrorists within their borders. And if we have actionable intelligence about high-level al-Qaeda targets, we must act if Pakistan will not or cannot...
Getting Out of the Way So what exactly should we do about Afghanistan now? First, the West should not increase troop numbers. In time, NATO allies, such as Germany and Holland, will probably want to draw down their numbers, and they should be allowed to do so. We face pressing challenges elsewhere. If we are worried about terrorism, Pakistan is more important than Afghanistan; if we are worried about regional stability, then Egypt, Iran or even Lebanon is more important; if we are worried about poverty, Africa is more important. A troop increase is likely to inflame Afghan nationalism because...