Gen. Stanley McChrystal, issued his counterinsurgency guidance to his forces on Aug. 26th. “Protecting the people is the mission,” said McChrystal, who explains the conflict in Afghanistan will be won by gaining the support of the population, not by destroying the enemy. He directed the troops to change their conventional mindsets and outlined the path to success through earning the trust of the Afghan people, partnering with the Afgan government forces, building governance and accountability, and improving and adapting ops to local conditions. In a nutshell, the goal is getting Afghans involved as active participants in the success of their communities, and protecting civilians and operating in a manner that is respectful and mindful of Afghan culture.br /br /Darned good advice, General McChrystal. That plan worked in Iraq. In a conventional war the goal is to find and kill the enemy forces—that done, most of the war is over. Not so now and our commanders properly recognize the difference. Now the question is, will they be allowed to stay there long enough to do the job.
Success in Afghanistan
August 30th, 2009A military-wives calendar
August 28th, 2009Some wives of British military men decided that they would pose for a calendar and sell it to the public with the proceeds going to groups dedicated to helping veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars. One of the ladies thought something along the lines of “Calendar Girls” — a movie about middle-aged women posing tastefully nude to raise money for cancer research. The result was that “Calendar Girls” became “Garrison Girls” which some might liken to soft erotica. The ladies pose with British flags, military caps or the odd combat boot, their faces generally in shadow or away from the camera, arms and legs mostly positioned in semi-discreet angles.br /That was more than a year ago, and the 2011 edition of the “Garrison Girls” calendar is expected out in March 2010. Result: they’ve raised money for their soldier-oriented charities without drawing fire from the British Defense Ministry or their husbands’ commands. I offer this report without comment.
Problems at the VA
August 26th, 2009While many severely wounded veterans have faced financial hardship waiting for their first disability payment from the VA, lots of money has been flowing in the form of $24 million in bonuses inside the VA.The VA’s inspector general reported that thousands of VA technology office employees received the bonuses over a two-year period. The VA’s IG accused one recently retired VA official of acting “as if she was given a blank checkbook” for awards and bonuses, some without justification. While bonuses are a valid way of rewarding employees whose performance exceeds expectations, our veterans get no such reward—so if they are being poorly served, it’s tough to justify these rewards.When you consider that the number of claims the VA needs to process has escalated, and the Information and Technology Office plays a key role in improving things, the bonuses look very questionable. It is worthy of note that it was the VA who found this problem; the VA’s IG should maybe get a bonus. In the meanwhile, given all the wild spending by our government, let’ see a bunch of money spent to get this problem resolved once and for all. That would be good, but I’m not holding my breath.
President Obama and an Afgan Warlord
August 23rd, 2009Last week a powerful and controversial Afghan warlord returned from exile in Turkey in what was an apparent attempt by President Karzai to attract ethnic Uzbek voters in this week’s presidential election. Karzai has cultivated several warlords as allies with an eye toward last week’s presidential election. The alliances have drawn strong criticism from the international community.br /The US immediately condemned Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum’s return and raised concerns about his alleged involvement in “massive human rights violations.” Dostum is alleged to have been responsible for the deaths of up to 2,000 Taliban prisoners early in the Afghan war. President Obama has ordered his national security team to investigate allegations in the New York Times that the Bush administration failed to investigate the reported deaths.br /As I learned of this situation the thing that popped out to me was that Mr. Obama is still looking to demonize former President Bush. As I teach my political science students, beware of the politician who spends too much time bashing an opponent—he’s likely got a lot to hide or nothing of value to say. Given Mr. Obama’s long string of unwise moves and very low poll numbers, I’d say that the real story here is Obama trying to deflect attention from himself.
Elections in Afghanistan
August 22nd, 2009Millions of Afghans went to the polls yesterday, defying Taliban threats of violence and occasional terrorist attacks across the country; they were voting for a president in the midst of a worsening war.br /”The Afghan people dared rockets, bombs and intimidation and came out to vote,” President Hamid Karzai told a news conference after polls closed.br /Two Taliban fighters were killed in the capital and rockets fell on several towns, mainly in the south and east, but violence tapered off during the day. Apparently there were 73 attacks in 15 of the country’s 34 provinces.br /Despite grave security concerns, the security situation was adequate to allow the people to vote. br /Pre-election polls showed Karzai, in power since 2001, to be the likely winner but not by enough to avoid a run-off against his main challenger, his former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. The election is generally a referendum on Karzai, a real coalition builder who’s personally liked by most Afghans, but also widely blamed for his government that’s corrupt, ineffective, and entirely dependent on international aid. Stay tuned for results.
