There were two important developments today in the Afghan war effort and the debate about the overall strategy. First, President Obama has received an unofficial copy of General McChrystal’s recommendations. I’m a bit confused about how a general’s recommendations can be considered unofficial when given to a president, but that is what the media is reporting. General McChrystal, as you know, is advising President Obama to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan and to more or less repeat the surge strategy that worked in Iraq. The other major development I’d like to call your attention to has to do with the alternative to the McChrystal plan. It has been widely reported in the news media, and I’ve noted it on this blog, that one option on the table has been to decrease the number of troop in Afghanistan and instead rely on drones (UAVs) and special forces to accomplish U.S. goals. The New York Times is reporting that President Obama said this option was mischaracterized by the media and that this option is now off the table:
Several administration officials and lawmakers who attended the session on Tuesday said Mr. Obama was intent on using it to dismiss any impression that he would consider pulling out of Afghanistan. “There is no option that would entail a dramatic reduction in troops,” said one administration official, who, like others quoted in this article, requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting. Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden made it clear that the option Mr. Biden had proposed was not a pure counterterrorism alternative, relying only on drones and Special Forces to track down leaders of Al Qaeda. Instead, Mr. Biden’s approach would increase the use of such surgical strikes while leaving the overall size of the American force in Afghanistan roughly at the 68,000 troops currently authorized.
While we don’t yet know the final strategy President Obama will adopt for the war in Afghanistan we can now at least clearly define what he won’t do, which is at least progress.
