The war in Afghanistan clearly has Anthony Cordesman excised. Two months ago he wrote a dispiriting analysis of the war. In his current report Cordesman blasts the lack of planning and of a unified approach to fighting what he sees as an Afghan-Pakistan war. This last point – an Afghan-Pakistan war – is a critical one. Unless Pakistan gets its act together and starts moving effectively against the Taliban in Pakistan, we can kiss Afghanistan good by.
He emphasizes that Afghanistan is a totally different country than Iraq. The terrain is much more difficult, communication facilities stink, tribal interaction is much more complex; corruption is rampant, governance outside of Kabul is almost non-existent and there really is no rule of law; basically, the country is a backwards nation when compared with Iraq. The Afghanistan troops and police need more and different training than their Iraqi counterparts. Yet, we don’t have nearly enough advisers and trainers; GAO and DOD think we have less than half the number needed.
A very big problem is getting money where it is needed. We’re not giving enough. Many of the pledges by our allies are not being fulfilled. A lot of the money going to the country is being spent outside the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment