by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Oct. 26, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

              Deep below the Oval Office, President Barack Obama meets secretly in the Situation Room to debate with his national security team the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, fogged-in from the crystal clarity immediately after Sept. 11.  When former President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom Oct. 7, 2001, the mission was clear:  Topple the Taliban government and capture, kill or destroy Osama bin Laden and his global al-Qaida terror organization.  Since 2005, the U.S. mission switched from getting the Taliban and Bin Laden to battling Afghanistan’s powerful opium cartel, believed funding the war against coalition forces.  Fourteen U.S. soldiers were killed Oct. 26, including three Drug Enforcement Agency agents, the deadliest day in Afghanistan in more than four years.  Crashing in the opium-rich southern Helmand province, a U.S. helicopter lost 7 soldiers and three DEA agents.

            Two separate but unrelated incidents involving midair collisions Oct. 26 of two U.S. Marine UH-1 and AH-1 Cobra helicopters, killed four more troops, according to Marine spokesman Maj. Bill Pelletier.  Monday’s death brought October’s total to 47,one of the deadliest months since the war began Oct. 7. 2001.  Obama has been under growing pressure from NATO and U.S. conservatives to honor U.S. Afghan Commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request for an additional 40,000 U.S. troops.  NATO has been reluctant to kick in more forces, threatening to end the coalition’s commitment to combat operations.  While denied by the U.S. military, the Taliban claimed insurgent attacks brought down the choppers.  Whatever the cause, growing number of U.S. troops have lost their lives in Afghanistan.  U.S. military spokeswoman Elizabeth Mathias denied the choppers were downed by hostile fire.

            NATO confirmed that the downed helicopters returned from a joint mission targeting insurgents involved in “narcotics trafficking in Western Afghanistan.”  Few Americans or Europeans know that U.S. or NATO have been actively involved in fighting the opium trade, largely defended by Taliban forces.  “During the operation, insurgent forces engaged the joint force and more than a dozen enemy fighters were killed in the ensuing firefight,” said a NATO statement, admitting that operations involved the drug trade.  Going after the opium trade is a tall order for U.S.-NATO forces, whose limited resources were involved in attacking the Taliban and al-Qaida.  While Afhgan opium farmers supply 90% of the world’s illicit heroin trade, they also sell opium to international drug companies for processing into medical-grade morphine and other legal narcotic-based painkillers.

            Former Vice President Dick Cheney accused the Obama administration of “dithering” on re-supplying Afghanistan the requested troops by the Pentagon.  Bush and Cheney neglected Afghanistan for years, directing most U.S. resources to Iraq.  Obama campaigned on a promise to wind-down Iraq and make Afghanistan a higher priority.  Since taking office Jan. 20, 2009, Barack authorized an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan last March.  McChrystal’s recent 66-page assessment painted a dismal prognosis unless the U.S. committed an additional 40,000 troops.  Recent revelations about the current U.S and NATO mission of targeting the drug cartel call into question U.S. strategy.  Given McChrystal’s mission of disrupting the opium cartel, it’s no wonder he needs 40,000 more troops.  Without caving into pressure from former Bush officials, Obama must get the mission right.

            Barack’s job of reassessing the Afghan mission got more complicated by a fraudulent Aug. 20 vote for incumbent U.S.-puppet Hamid Karzai.  U.N. election officials recently invalidated Karzai’s victory, forcing the government to hold a Nov. 7 runoff election.  It’s gotten more difficult for Obama to sell escalating a war when the host government is rotten-to-the-core.  Opposition candidate Adullah Abdullah called for a new U.N. election commission chairman, replacing Azizullah Lodin who presided over the Aug. 20 vote.  Adullah wants all workers involved in Karazi’s fraud fired and replaced with new workers before the Nov. 7 rerun.  “These are not impossible things,” said Abdullah, reluctant to discuss or accept a power-sharing arrangement before the Nov. 7 vote.  Before the outcome of the next vote, it’s going to be difficult for Obama to commit more U.S. troops.

            Whatever happens with Afghan’s Nov. 7 vote, it’s unrealistic for the U.S. and NATO to commit forces to eradicating the opium trade.  When Bush’s Operation Enduring Freedom morphed in 2004-05 into going after the opium trade, the U.S. and NATO committed itself to a failed mission.  While it’s tempting to believe cutting the funding source would magically end the Taliban insurgency, the opium trade has little to do with the nationalistic Islamic movement.  Since coming to power in 1994, the Taliban implemented strict Sharia law, incompatible with drug trafficking.  One-eyed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar gave opium farmers fits during his 7-year reign.  U.S. and NATO officials must recalculate the mission or face mounting casualties and little progress.  Ending Afghan’s opium trade has about as much chance of success as stopping the Taliban and getting Bin Laden.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.