NATO Summit - Afghanistan - Rush to the Exit

When President Obama took office, almost three and a half years ago, he said that Afghanistan was the justified war, while he said he would end the war in Iraq.  One can argue about how the war in Iraq was ended and whether or not it created more security problems in the region, but as far as Afghanistan is concerned, there now appears to be a rush to the exit.  There seems to be no regard for the conditions on the ground.

France will have its troops out of Afghanistan by the end of this year.  Australia has already announced that it will leave a year early and the Canadian government has indicated that it has done more than its fair share and will not extend its training mission beyond 2014.

President Obama said yesterday that the war in Afghanistan is over as we know it.  Really?  1965 US soldiers have paid the ultimate price as of last Friday Read More, including just six last week.

NATO issued a declaration on Afghanistan overnight.

 "We are gradually and responsibly drawing down our forces to complete the ISAF mission by 31 December 2014. By the end of 2014, when the Afghan Authorities will have full security responsibility, the NATO-led combat mission will end."

The United Kingdom had 414 of its soldiers killed in action, Canada 158, France 82, Germany 53, Italy 46, Denmark 42, Poland 35, Spain 34 and Australia 32, just to name a few.  Overall 3006 NATO soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.  Add to that those wounded and psychologically damaged, one must ask the question if the cost was worth it.

The Taliban is hardly defeated, despite the positive spin that the President is trying to put on the war.  The Karzai government is corrupt and yet it is the best partner NATO has in the devastated region.  It is anticipated that $4.2 Billion is required to fund Afghanistan's military post the NATO withdrawal, of which the US is expected to pay about half.

Let's be clear, the decisions being taken in regards to the NATO mission have nothing to do with the conditions on the ground but are merely being taken for political expediency.  It is no accident that those decisions are being announced during the President's re-election campaign.  They are all part of a check list for improving re-election efforts.

While the public is tired of war, more respect should be shown for the price that soldiers and their families have paid.  While most of them are volunteers, none of them asked to go to Afghanistan.  It is  not the soldier that starts wars. It is the politician.  Now the politician is turning his/her very back  on those they tasked to fight their war.  

At the very least politicians could be honest with the public and show respect for the soldiers, many way too young to realize what they are getting themselves into.

This travesty is amplified upon the soldiers return. The soldier has to fight for proper care and in most instances is unable to find employment.  Not only is the politician to blame, but also the media that has not done enough to highlight the plight of veterans. Does this look like Vietnam all over again?

President Obama's Afghanistan Speech 1 May 2012

On the anniversary of Osama Bin Laden's death, President Obama traveled to Afghanistan to sign a "Strategic Partnership Agreement."  The agreement clears the way for U.S. an NATO withdrawal in 2014.  After the official signing of the treaty, President Obama addressed both the Afghan and American people. 



Full Text of the President's Speech:

Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
On the Way Forward in Afghanistan
Washington, D.C.
June 22, 2011
Good evening. Nearly ten years ago, America suffered the worst attack on our shores since Pearl Harbor. This mass murder was planned by Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network in Afghanistan, and signaled a new threat to our security – one in which the targets were no longer soldiers on a battlefield, but innocent men, women and children going about their daily lives.

In the days that followed, our nation was united as we struck at al Qaeda and routed the Taliban in Afghanistan. Then, our focus shifted. A second war was launched in Iraq, and we spent enormous blood and treasure to support a new government there. By the time I took office, the war in Afghanistan had entered its seventh year. But al Qaeda’s leaders had escaped into Pakistan and were plotting new attacks, while the Taliban had regrouped and gone on the offensive. Without a new strategy and decisive action, our military commanders warned that we could face a resurgent al Qaeda, and a Taliban taking over large parts of Afghanistan.

For this reason, in one of the most difficult decisions that I’ve made as President, I ordered an additional 30,000 American troops into Afghanistan. When I announced this surge at West Point, we set clear objectives: to refocus on al Qaeda; reverse the Taliban’s momentum; and train Afghan Security Forces to defend their own country. I also made it clear that our commitment would not be open-ended, and that we would begin to drawdown our forces this July.

Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment. Thanks to our men and women in uniform, our civilian personnel, and our many coalition partners, we are meeting our goals. As a result, starting next month, we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer, fully recovering the surge I announced at West Point. After this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan Security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security.

We are starting this drawdown from a position of strength. Al Qaeda is under more pressure than at any time since 9/11. Together with the Pakistanis, we have taken out more than half of al Qaeda’s leadership. And thanks to our intelligence professionals and Special Forces, we killed Osama bin Laden, the only leader that al Qaeda had ever known. This was a victory for all who have served since 9/11. One soldier summed it up well. “The message,” he said, “is we don’t forget. You will be held accountable, no matter how long it takes.”

The information that we recovered from bin Laden’s compound shows al Qaeda under enormous strain. Bin Laden expressed concern that al Qaeda has been unable to effectively replace senior terrorists that have been killed, and that al Qaeda has failed in its effort to portray America as a nation at war with Islam – thereby draining more widespread support. Al Qaeda remains dangerous, and we must be vigilant against attacks. But we have put al Qaeda on a path to defeat, and we will not relent until the job is done.

In Afghanistan, we’ve inflicted serious losses on the Taliban and taken a number of its strongholds. Along with our surge, our allies also increased their commitments, which helped stabilize more of the country. Afghan Security Forces have grown by over 100,000 troops, and in some provinces and municipalities we have already begun to transition responsibility for security to the Afghan people. In the face of violence and intimidation, Afghans are fighting and dying for their country, establishing local police forces, opening markets and schools, creating new opportunities for women and girls, and trying to turn the page on decades of war.

Of course, huge challenges remain. This is the beginning – but not the end – of our effort to wind down this war. We will have to do the hard work of keeping the gains that we have made, while we drawdown our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan government. And next May, in Chicago, we will host a summit with our NATO allies and partners to shape the next phase of this transition.

We do know that peace cannot come to a land that has known so much war without a political settlement. So as we strengthen the Afghan government and Security Forces, America will join initiatives that reconcile the Afghan people, including the Taliban. Our position on these talks is clear: they must be led by the Afghan government, and those who want to be a part of a peaceful Afghanistan must break from al Qaeda, abandon violence, and abide by the Afghan Constitution. But, in part because of our military effort, we have reason to believe that progress can be made.
The goal that we seek is achievable, and can be expressed simply: no safe-haven from which al Qaeda or its affiliates can launch attacks against our homeland, or our allies. We will not try to make Afghanistan a perfect place. We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely. That is the responsibility of the Afghan government, which must step up its ability to protect its people; and move from an economy shaped by war to one that can sustain a lasting peace. What we can do, and will do, is build a partnership with the Afghan people that endures – one that ensures that we will be able to continue targeting terrorists and supporting a sovereign Afghan government.

Of course, our efforts must also address terrorist safe-havens in Pakistan. No country is more endangered by the presence of violent extremists, which is why we will continue to press Pakistan to expand its participation in securing a more peaceful future for this war-torn region. We will work with the Pakistani government to root out the cancer of violent extremism, and we will insist that it keep its commitments. For there should be no doubt that so long as I am President, the United States will never tolerate a safe-haven for those who aim to kill us: they cannot elude us, nor escape the justice they deserve.

My fellow Americans, this has been a difficult decade for our country. We have learned anew the profound cost of war -- a cost that has been paid by the nearly 4500 Americans who have given their lives in Iraq, and the over 1500 who have done so in Afghanistan – men and women who will not live to enjoy the freedom that they defended. Thousands more have been wounded. Some have lost limbs on the field of battle, and others still battle the demons that have followed them home.
Yet tonight, we take comfort in knowing that the tide of war is receding. Fewer of our sons and daughters are serving in harm’s way. We have ended our combat mission in Iraq, with 100,000 American troops already out of that country. And even as there will be dark days ahead in Afghanistan, the light of a secure peace can be seen in the distance. These long wars will come to a responsible end.

As they do, we must learn their lessons. Already this decade of war has caused many to question the nature of America’s engagement around the world. Some would have America retreat from our responsibility as an anchor of global security, and embrace an isolation that ignores the very real threats that we face. Others would have America over-extend ourselves, confronting every evil that can be found abroad.

We must chart a more centered course. Like generations before, we must embrace America’s singular role in the course of human events. But we must be as pragmatic as we are passionate; as strategic as we are resolute. When threatened, we must respond with force – but when that force can be targeted, we need not deploy large armies overseas. When innocents are being slaughtered and global security endangered, we don’t have to choose between standing idly by or acting on our own. Instead, we must rally international action, which we are doing in Libya, where we do not have a single soldier on the ground, but are supporting allies in protecting the Libyan people and giving them the chance to determine their destiny.

In all that we do, we must remember that what sets America apart is not solely our power – it is the principles upon which our union was founded. We are a nation that brings our enemies to justice while adhering to the rule of law, and respecting the rights of all our citizens. We protect our own freedom and prosperity by extending it to others. We stand not for empire, but for self-determination. That is why we have a stake in the democratic aspirations that are now washing across the Arab World. We will support those revolutions with fidelity to our ideals, with the power of our example, and with an unwavering belief that all human beings deserve to live with freedom and dignity.

Above all, we are a nation whose strength abroad has been anchored in opportunity for our citizens at home. Over the last decade, we have spent a trillion dollars on war, at a time of rising debt and hard economic times. Now, we must invest in America’s greatest resource – our people. We must unleash innovation that creates new jobs and industry, while living within our means. We must rebuild our infrastructure and find new and clean sources of energy. And most of all, after a decade of passionate debate, we must recapture the common purpose that we shared at the beginning of this time of war. For our nation draws strength from our differences, and when our union is strong no hill is too steep and no horizon is beyond our reach.

America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home.

In this effort, we draw inspiration from our fellow Americans who have sacrificed so much on our behalf. To our troops, our veterans and their families, I speak for all Americans when I say that we will keep our sacred trust with you, and provide you with the care, and benefits, and opportunity that you deserve.
I met some of those patriotic Americans at Fort Campbell. A while back, I spoke to the 101st Airborne that has fought to turn the tide in Afghanistan, and to the team that took out Osama bin Laden. Standing in front of a model of bin Laden’s compound, the Navy SEAL who led that effort paid tribute to those who had been lost – brothers and sisters in arms whose names are now written on bases where our troops stand guard overseas, and on headstones in quiet corners of our country where their memory will never be forgotten. This officer - like so many others I have met with on bases, in Baghdad and Bagram, at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital – spoke with humility about how his unit worked together as one – depending on each other, and trusting one another, as a family might do in a time of peril.

That’s a lesson worth remembering – that we are all a part of one American family. Though we have known disagreement and division, we are bound together by the creed that is written into our founding documents, and a conviction that the United States of America is a country that can achieve whatever it sets out to accomplish. Now, let us finish the work at hand. Let us responsibly end these wars, and reclaim the American Dream that is at the center of our story. With confidence in our cause; with faith in our fellow citizens; and with hope in our hearts, let us go about the work of extending the promise of America – for this generation, and the next. May God bless our troops. And may God bless the United States of America.

Obama Visit to Afghanistan on Bin Laden Death Anniversary

 President Obama arrived unannounced under the cover of darkness at Bagram Airbase, south of Kabul at 10:30pm local time.  He boarded a helicopter, which took him t Kabul, the Afghan capital.

The visit happens to coincide with the first anniversary of the death of Osama Bin Laden, but officials said that the visit was purely coincidental and was driven by the "Strategic Partnership Agreement, which had been negotiated approximately 20 months with officials.  President Obama is expected to address the American people at 7:30 pm Eastern Time.  He is expected to mention the death of Osama bin Laden in this evening's speech.

The President has been criticized for politicizing the Bin Laden death, especially after an attack ad was released that seemed to suggest that the President's Republican opponent would not have made that decision.  Vice President Biden made a similar comment.

The Strategic Partnership Agreement was finalized on April 22nd after 20 months of negotiations and discussions with NATO allies.

The Treaty, which deals with the residual U.S. force after withdrawal, the training and maintenance of Afghan Security Forces was in danger of collapsing based on the funding guarantee given by the U.S.  Earlier this week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai had demanded that the U.S commit in writing to at least $2Billion out of the estimated $4.2 Billion needed to fund Afghanistan.

While Afghan forces are expected to level at 228,500 by 2017, they are expected to grow to 352,000 soldiers and police officers this year, but the future size is under discussion.  A force of this size has to be funded, trained, equipped and paid.  The price tag for the force is approximately $4.1 Billion, of which the United States is expected to pay $2.3 Billion.  The remainder is to be split among NATO allies and the Afghan government. 

U.S. officials told reporters that the objective was to sign the agreement on Afghan soil. It has five  components: transition, training, partnership, reconciliation and rebuilding.  The emphasized the point that the U.S. learned the lesson of 1989 and will not abandon Afghanistan. 

The agreement was signed in the atrium of the King's Residence, which is part of the Presidential Palace. 

President Obam said that the U.S. and Afghanistan will be long term partners in combating terrorism and in training Afghan security partners.  He said that Afghanistan has a friend and partner in the U.S. and that together we'll achieve the goal of destroying Al Qaeda. 

The signing of this agreement clears the way for the exit of NATO from Afghanistan.  Australia will remove its contingent of 500 troops by 2013, Britain is withdrawing 500 troop, while the U.S. is expected to draw down 30,000 troops by the end of the year.

The details of the agreement have not yet been announced, including the residual NATO forces.  Both Canada and Australia have received a request from the U.S. to keep a small contingent of forces in Afghanistan to assist with training and pushing back the Taliban.

Afghan Strategic Partnership Treaty Could Fail on Dollars

It is common knowledge that the Afghan economy is dependent on foreign funding.  With the anticipated departure of NATO, Western leaders and the US are scrambling to put a strategic partnership treaty into place.  It was expected that the deal would be finalized prior to the Afghanistan conference next month, clearing the way for NATO troops to exit Afghanistan.  The treaty could be delayed without the U.S. agreeing to a dollar amount in writing.

While the U.S. apparently has agreed to fund Afghanistan to the tune of $4Billion verbally, President Hamid Karzai has demanded that the U.S. agree to at least $2 Billion annually in writing.  Afghan Security Forces, which are to take over responsibility for Afghanistan's Security, are to be maintained at a strength of 140,000.

While the U.S. has made an agreement on night raids and the authority to transfer detainees to Afghans, the stumbling block still remains the funding.  Karzai says that there are only vague pledges to fund the Afghan Army and police.

"They are providing us money, there is no doubt about that. But they say they will not mention the amount in the agreement. We say, give us less, but mention it in the agreement. Give us less but write it down."

The US Embassy in Kabul said that they would not comment on ongoing negotiations.

Since the treaty is required to clear the way for NATO's exit in 2014, there is sure to be some sort of written agreement.  To say the least, an agreement is necessary to instil confidence in the Afghan public that there will be sufficient funded Afghan forces after the United States depart.  It is also anticipated that there will be a residual force of US soldiers, which will be part of the agreement or at the minimum a separate memorandum of understanding.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia announced that Australian troops would withdraw from Afghanistan one year earlier than anticipated.  Read more here.

G8 Leaders Affirm Afghanistan Engagement

With the gradual transition to hand responsibility for Afghan security to the Karzai government, leaders of the G8 have reaffirmed their commitment for the long ranging engagement in Afghanistan.  The leaders reaffirmed their strong commitment to Afghanistan’s sovereignty and national unity.  They urged Afghan President Hamid Karzai to combat corruption and work on improving governance. 

While NATO intends to handover security responsibilities to the war torn nation by 2014, the country obviously has several problems to overcome.  Afghan Security Forces need to be paid, just as infrastructure requires funding.  There will likely be some US/NATO troops left in Afghanistan, the scope and size, which is yet to be determined.  This will also require a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).  

Afghanistan is a tribal nation, which will make governing from the centre virtually impossible unless local warlords and tribal leaders support a central government. 

The meeting on Afghanistan, which was held at Blair House, chaired by Secretary of State Clinton.  The G8 leaders renewed their support for an Afghan-led reconciliation process and vowed to help strengthen Afghan forces.  A joint statement said:

“The ministers reaffirmed the agreement reached in Bonn for sustainable levels of financial support, consistent with the Kabul process, toward Afghanistan’s economic development and security-related costs as part of their enduring engagement with Afghanistan through 2014 and into the transformation decade (2015-2024).”

The statement acknowledged that significant progress had been made, however much more must be done on human rights, international terrorism, respect of the Afghan constitution and for the right of women.

 “Reconciliation must contain the reaffirmation of a sovereign, stable and united Afghanistan; the renunciation of violence; the breaking of ties to international terrorism; and the respect for the Afghan constitution, including its human rights provisions, notably the rights of women."

While G8 leaders acknowledged the traditions and religion of Afghanistan, they said that it must coincide with international human rights and obligations under humanitarian law.  They also urged the Afghan government to  enact reforms to address corruption, enhance the rule of law and foster a business and legal environment conducive to private investment.

This may be a high order for President Hamid Karzai, who has been accused of corruption and election fraud.  There is also still the issue on how to deal with the Taliban and the Pakistani government.  Unquestionably relations with Pakistan will be the key to failure or success of the Afghan mission. 

While there will be reduced costs for the military presence in Afghanistan, significant funds to prop up the government an economy will be needed for years to come, at least another decade.