Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

The United States government is set to announce a plan to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by 2014, a goal that will require the gradual transfer of responsibility for security operations to Afghan forces over the next 18 to 24 months.

Government officials told the New York Times that a “phased four-year plan to wind down American and allied fighting in Afghanistan will be presented at a NATO summit meeting in Lisbon later this week.”

A similar announcement by the Obama administration, to begin a troop drawdown in Afghanistan by July 2011, came in for a barrage of criticism on the grounds that it could strengthen the hand of militants who might regroup after that date.

However the most recent plan, disclosed by unnamed government sources, followed closely on the heels of sharp criticism by Afghan President Hamid Karzai against the U.S.’ military presence in his country.

In an interview with the Washington Post over the weekend Mr. Karzai said “I think ten years is a long time to continue to have military operations. The time has come to reduce military operations. The time has come to reduce the presence of... boots in Afghanistan... to reduce the intrusiveness into the daily Afghan life.”

Describing night raids conducted by U.S. and other foreign troops on Afghan homes as “terrible,” Mr. Karzai lashed out at the U.S. military strategy as well, saying “The Afghan people do not like these raids in any manner. We do not like raids on our homes. This is a problem between us, and I hope this ends as soon as possible.”

General David Petraeus, Commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, was reported to have expressed “astonishment and disappointment,” over Mr. Karzai’s comments, noting that they might make the General’s position “untenable.”

Mr. Karzai’s spokesman, Waheed Omer, however quickly clarified on Monday that Mr. Karzai’s critique was not intended to undermine confidence in General Petraeus, but rather was a sign of a “maturing partnership in which both sides are willing to speak frankly.”

The President’s words notwithstanding, it is the transfer responsibility to the still-developing Afghan security forces that is at the heart of the U.S. According to reports these local forces comprise approximately 264,000 men; and the goal is to raise this number to 350,000 by 2013.

The possibility of a 2014 handover appeared to be a hit with President Barack Obama’s Republican opposition, now holding a stronger hand of cards after a sweeping victory in the House of Representatives earlier this month.

Speaking to ABC's Christiane Amanpour Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that 2014 was the more realistic date for a drawdown.

“I think in summer of 2011 we can bring some troops home but we are going to need a substantial number of troops in Afghanistan past that,” Senator Graham said, adding that 2014 was the year in which Mr. Karzai had said Afghans would be “in the lead.”

Labels: Afghanistan, combat operations, General David Petraeus, Hamid Karzai, U.S.

From The Hindu

Efforts led by General David Petraeus, head of military command for Afghanistan, may lead to the fearsome Haqqani network group of militants being labelled terrorists, reports have suggested, a move that could prove to be thorny for the United States-Pakistan relationship.

An article by the New York Times on Wednesday quoted unnamed administration officials as saying that General Petraeus had introduced the idea of blacklisting the Haqqani network late last week in discussions with President Obama’s senior advisers on Pakistan and Afghanistan. It went on to note that the action “was being seriously considered”.

In terms of immediate consequences, the application of the terrorist label to the group would likely lead to legal restrictions on U.S. entities trading with it and possibly the freezing of the group’s assets in the U.S..

However, the broader implications of such a move include the possibility of it posing a serious challenge for the U.S.’ Af-Pak strategy. This is especially likely given Pakistan’s close ties with the Haqqani network and the efforts of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to build broader alliances in his country, including with members of the Taliban, who are also known to have links to the Haqqani group.

One immediate issue that is likely to be affected by the Haqqani network question is the ongoing debate on which members of the Taliban should feature on a United Nations sanctions list and which of them should be taken off the list, as requested by President Karzai.

Responding to a question from The Hindu, Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan said at a briefing, “In every war of this sort, there’s always a window for people who want to come in from the cold... If they are willing to accept the red lines… there has to be a place for them.” He added that some of these Afghans “may live next door and take sanctuary next door”, in a reference to Pakistan harbouring some members of these groups.

The Haqqani network, now controlled by militants based in Pakistan was created by the Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani. Today it is reported to be led by his son Sirajuddin.

The NYT report noted that the idea of blacklisting the network was “first made public on Tuesday by Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, who has just returned from Pakistan and Afghanistan.” It added that Senator Levin did not disclose any conversations he might have had with General Petraeus on the subject.

The report further quoted Senator Levin as saying, “At the moment, the Haqqani network — and their fighters coming over the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan — is the greatest threat, at least external threat, to Afghanistan.”

He was reported to have also said, “More needs to be done by Pakistan… The Pakistanis have said they now realise, more than ever, that terrorism is a threat to them — not just the terrorists who attack them directly, but the terrorists who attack others from their territory.”

Labels: General David Petraeus, Haqqani network, U.S.-Pakistan ties