By Lawrence Korb and Caroline Wadhams.
Newsday, 09 October 2007.
Sunday marked the sixth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and al-Qaida. Most Americans barely noticed its passing, however, and the Afghan insurgency rages on. Consumed by operations in Iraq, policy-makers and the U.S. public remain disengaged from U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.
But the mission in Afghanistan is going alarmingly awry, and the United States must refocus and re-energize its policy. The administration and Congress cannot allow the sinking ship of Iraq to take Afghanistan down with it.
Afghanistan is plagued with levels of violence not experienced since 2001. Taliban and al-Qaida insurgents have regrouped in the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and suicide attacks are on the rise. Furthermore, opium production has reached unprecedented levels, providing 93 percent of the world's supply.
Consistently portraying Iraq as the central front in the "war on terror," the Bush administration has not made a compelling case for sustained engagement in Afghanistan. Instead, Afghanistan is always mentioned as an afterthought.
This neglect is reflected in the resources, manpower and attention given to Afghanistan by the United States. It is clearly in our national security interest to achieve two key objectives in Afghanistan: refuse sanctuary to al-Qaida and its affiliates, and build a stable, secure nation that is not threatened by internal conflict.
Afghanistan's fragility allows terrorists to thrive and criminal networks and terrorists to profit from the drug trade. To achieve our security objectives, the United States, and especially Congress, must provide increased funds, attention and manpower - both civilian and military. U.S. leaders must also engage the American people, as they may become increasingly pessimistic about U.S. involvement in the Muslim world as a result of the war in Iraq.
There are five concrete steps Congress and the administration should pursue immediately.
First, the United States must prioritize strengthening the Afghan government to lead and implement change. This will require efforts to reduce corruption, such as the development of a national anti-corruption strategy. It also will demand increased support for strengthening the rule of law through the reform of the Ministry of Interior and the Afghan National Police.
Second, as the insurgency grows in force, the United States and NATO must increase troop levels by at least 20,000. The United States should redeploy U.S. troops from Iraq to Afghanistan and should focus on reducing civilian casualties and improving the international community's response when they tragically occur. The Afghan National Army should receive greater oversight and more training, and NATO's International Security Assistance Force and the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom should be united under one NATO command.
Third, despite moderate progress in education and health care, most Afghans have not seen significant improvements in their daily lives. The United States, the Afghan government and the international community should increase assistance and oversight for reconstruction and development projects, and improve coordination among the multitude of international actors involved in Afghanistan - while placing the Afghan government in the lead. Congress should establish a special inspector general for Afghanistan's reconstruction to strengthen oversight of the U.S. assistance.
Fourth, the United States must alter its counter-narcotics strategy. Current U.S. policy to combat opium production is working at cross-purposes with counterinsurgency and counterterrorism objectives. Focused too heavily on farmers and not traffickers, it is driving farmers into the arms of the insurgency. The drug strategy must be re-evaluated and better coordinated with the Afghan government and the international community, higher-end actors in the drug-trade must be targeted, and alternative livelihood programs must be increased. Aerial eradication of opium-poppy fields should be taken off the table for now.
Fifth, the United States and the international community must address the insurgency's safe haven in Pakistan. Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, should be pressured to disrupt Taliban and al-Qaida sanctuaries and conduct more intelligence in the border areas. U.S. assistance to Pakistan must be better channeled - through increasing transparency around its use and steering aid away from conventional military expenditures, toward counterterrorism assistance and economic development. And the United States must advocate for greater regional diplomacy among the governments of India, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The United States and its partners have a historic, yet diminishing window of opportunity to reverse the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. This is an international mission that can succeed, and the United States should show strong, committed leadership in building a stable, secure nation and in denying sanctuary to al-Qaida and its affiliates. Six years into this war, it's time to get the policy right.
Lawrence Korb served as assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration. He and Caroline Wadhams are senior fellow and senior policy analyst, respectively, at the Center for American Progress.
Citation: Lawrence Korb and Caroline Wadhams. "U.S. Must Put More Focus on Afghan Insurgency," Newsday, 09 October 2007.
Original URL: http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-optrk5406814oct09,0,3645843.story