ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Duke's Damage Control</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style4 { font-size: x-large; } .style5 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="116" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <a href="081609.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="24" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="465" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="18" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="283" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr height="26"> <td width="624" height="26" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="1"> <td width="116" height="2574" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="489" height="1" colspan="3"></td> <td width="18" height="2574" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr height="2573"> <td width="489" height="2573" colspan="3" align="left" xpos="116" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5"><b> <br /> <br /> McCain&#39;s Afghan Pressure</b></font><p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> by John M. Curtis<br> (310) 204-8700</b><br> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright Oct. 11, 2009<br> All Rights Reserved.</i></font></p> <p><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style4">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="style5">W</span>ith Presdient Barack Obama undecided about increasing U.S. forces in Afghanistan, former GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) demanded the president move ahead with  deliberate speed to increase U.S. forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. Afghan Commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal, in a 66-page report, urged Obama to add up to 40,000 more troops, on top of the 21,000 Barack added in March.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Warning the White House that failure to act would be an  error of historic proportions, McCain placed heat on the 48-year-old chief executive unwilling to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor President George W. Bush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush surged troops in Iraq, eventually causing a dramatic reduction in U.S. casualties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain believes there s a parallel in Afghanistan calling for a dramatic troop increase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>But unlike Iraq, Afghanistan battles a homegrown Taliban nationalist Islamic movement.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Speaking the CNN s  State-of-the-Union with John King, McCain urged Barack to follow McChrystal s advice to add 40,000 troops to reverse a deteriorating security situation and growing Taliban insurgency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McChrystal warned last month that without a sizable increase in troops the Afghan mission was doomed to failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> To disregard the requirements that have been laid out and agreed to by Gen [David] Petraeus and Adm. [Mike] Mullen would be an error of historic proportions, said McCain, urging Barack to follow his generals advice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>But unlike Bush, Obama is trying to reassess the mission to determine whether (a) the current mission was winnable and (b) the current strategy should radically change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. and NATO forces are currently engaged in a blood counterinsurgency or guerrilla war with the Taliban and al-Qaida, causing an increase in U.S. casualty rates.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Barack faces growing pressure from House and Senate Republicans to make good on his campaign promise of escalating the Afghan War.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Now that he s commander-in-chief he realizes that things aren t as black-or-white with respect to the Iraq and Afghan Wars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Started Oct. 7, 2001 as Operation Enduring Freedom, the mission was to topple the Taliban and capture or kill Osama bin Laden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While the Taliban indeed folded Nov. 14, 2001, Bin Laden remains at large orchestrating with his chief lieutenant Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, his global war on terror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I think the smart thing to do here  and I hope this is what the president s going to do, and if he does, I think he ll have broad support is to listen to Gen. Petraeus and Gen. McChrystal, said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kt.), referring largely what s smart for the Republican Party, not Obama or the Democrats</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain and McConnell s advice encourages Barack to repeat the mistakes of Bush, where the Iraq War turned out his Achilles Heel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Already adding 21,000 troops in March, Barack finds himself in an unpopular war with no guarantee of success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Even McChrystal acknowledged in his 66-page report there are no assurances even with a troop increase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Without a troop increase, McChrystal does assure the current mission s failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama hasn t yet decided whether he should continue the Bush counterinsurgency strategy, instead focusing on getting Bin Laden with Predator Drones and Special Forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain rejects that approach as the same failed strategy before the  troop surge in Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain agrees with McChrystal that only by increasing troops and going after the Taliban and al-Qaida can the U.S. make progress of neutralizing a growing rebel insurgency.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Vice President Joe Biden advocates the use of high military technology and Special Forces, limiting the mission to a kind of police action against the perpetrators of Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I do not, said McChrystal, in response to whether he can win without 40,000 additional troops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> And I think the great danger now is no an American pullout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>I think the great danger now is a half measure sort of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>(to) trying to please all ends of the political spectrum, referring to antiwar elements inside the Democratic Party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama believes Gen. Petraeus, Mullen and McChrystal must follow orders from the White House, not as McCain urges, to follow generals advice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unlike Bush in Iraq, Barack knows he faces a far better organized insurgency, led by Taliban Islamic nationalistic forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Escalating the war without making major progress could hurt Democrats in next year s midterm elections.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Whether admitted to or not, there are real political consequences to escalating the Afghan War.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush found out the hard way watching his approval ratings plummet to the lowest for a modern U.S. president.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Regardless of whether or not the surge worked, Bush s abysmal approval ratings dragged down the GOP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>There are few valid comparisons between Iraq and Afghanistan. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>What worked in Iraq, may not in Afghanistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The strategy that was developed by Gen. Petraeus, but also Gen. McChrystal as his strong arm, did succeed there, said McCain, expecting the same results as Iraq..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If history is any guide, the Soviets spent 10 long bloody years in Afghanistan to no avail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Like in Vietnam, it s going to be difficult to break a nationalistic movement with guns and bullets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Winning the hearts-and-minds of Afghans involves more than the U.S. military.</p> <p><b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet </a>and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma.</a></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2573"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2573"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="116" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="116" height="1"></td> <td width="24" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="24" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="283" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="283" height="1"></td> <td width="18" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="18" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homene.net" target="_blank">img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2002 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>