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Obama Wars Title: Kissinger Warns On Afghan Exit Strategy Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state, has warned that Washington’s plan to begin handing over responsibility to national forces in Afghanistan in July next year “provides a mechanism for failure”. In an interview with the Financial Times after President Barack Obama’s decision to remove General Stanley McChrystal as commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, Mr Kissinger said the public “must be prepared for a long struggle” in what is already41;the41;US’s41;longest war. Mr Kissinger said Mr Obama needed to rethink the deadline and the way the Afghan strategy had been designed since, in his view, its goals were too ambitious and too focused on a Kabul government with limited influence in the rest of the country. “[The strategy] needs adaptation to realities,” he said, suggesting the task of adapting it would best fall to General David Petraeus, Mr Obama’s nominee for Gen McChrystal’s successor. Mr Kissinger added that fighting the Taliban until it was reduced to impotence “would take more time than the American political system would permit”. The Republican’s comments come as Gen Petraeus, the architect of the US surge in Iraq, is due to appear before the Senate to be confirmed in his new post. Although confirmation is virtually assured, Republicans say they will push him on the realism of the July 2011 date. Democrats will call for Afghan forces to take on more of the fighting. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee, said it was “unacceptable” that only 5,300 of 119,000 Afghan army troops were to take part in a push on Kandahar this year. Mr Levin and other Democrats say the July 2011 date is vital to maintain US support for the war and give Afghans the incentive to take responsibility for their security. While the administration says the rate of the handover will be determined by conditions on the ground, figures such as Joe Biden, vice-president, and Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff, have said US troops will start leaving next July. Mr Obama himself has been more cautious in his recent statements. “The basic premise that you can work towards a national government that can replace the American security effort in a deadline of 12 months provides a mechanism for failure,” Mr Kissinger said. “On the other hand, if we are willing to pursue the stated [war] objective the public must be prepared for a long struggle. This is a choice that needs to be made explicitly.” Ç9; Nita Lowey, chairman of the House Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee, has vowed to halt non-humanitarian aid to Afghanistan after reports Kabul was blocking corruption inquiries and that $3bn (€2.4bn, £2bn) had been flown out of Kabul airport during the past three years.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Isn't dr k dead? ;}
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