It’s been a months since General David Petraeus took the reins of control of all military operations in Afghanistan, according to some senior military officials, who have concluded that setbacks in the war effort this year were not the result of the strategy, but of flaws in how it has been implemented.
Officials have stated that Gen. Petraeus is conducting a review of the conflict and plans to utilize many of the same tactics that helped turn around the war in Iraq. The officials have noted as well, that Gen. McChrystal placed too much attention on hunting down Taliban leaders, at the expense of the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy, which focuses on protecting civilians and bolstering popular support for the government. Supporters of Gen. McChrystal dispute that assessment, dismissing any notion that there were flaws in how he fought the war.
The key to any successful counterinsurgency operation is separating the insurgents from the civilian population. With mounting political pressure in the U.S. to begin to bring the troops home, this will be a difficult task to accomplish.
Last month, President Obama fired Gen. McChrystal over disparaging remarks made about senior administration officials. Unfortunately Gen. Petraeus' job will be different in Afghanistan, as he will not have an ambassador that is supportive of his efforts like Amb. Ray Crocker. The current Ambassador Gen., Karl Eikenberry, has been dismissive of the surge plan in Afghanistan and had been a thorn in Gen. Mchrystal’s side until he was relieved. Also, no one knows what role Special Assistant Richard Holbrooke, who has been critical of the surge strategy, will be playing.
If the president’s plan is to be successful, he needs to remove these two individuals and replace them with officials who believe in the surge strategy, or else he is setting up Gen. Petraeus for failure.
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