Chasing Ghosts in Afghanistan

There were two important hearings regarding Afghanistan on the Hill last week -- in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and at the Congressional Progressive Caucus' (CPC) third forum examining the war. Both raised critical questions about the current strategy of escalation -- questions Congress should take to heart as it considers the $83 billion war supplemental in coming weeks.

Senator John Kerry -- who as a young Vietnam veteran famously asked the Foreign Relations Committee, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" -- now chaired that same committee's hearing titled "Voice of Veterans of the Afghan War." He said in his opening statement that he "would not compare all of our conflicts to the Vietnam War.... [That] does not mean, however, that there are no parallels between the two wars." The hearing bore out some of those parallels.

There was a diversity of opinion among the four veterans and retired Colonel Andrew Bacevich as to whether sending more troops is the right thing to do. But there was also something they held in common: their connection to this war -- its stakes, costs, and consequences -- is very personal (in the case of Bacevich his personal connection comes not only from having served in Vietnam but also losing his son in Iraq.)

Retired Corporal Rick Reyes was the most vocal of the Afghanistan War veterans in opposing escalation. He spoke of his determination -- and that of his fellow Marines -- to "fight the enemy" following 9/11. But Reyes said that instead they were "sent to fight an enemy we could never see. The entire time we were there, we were chasing ghosts."

Reyes' mission was to "locate and capture suspected members of the Taliban" during nighttime raids. But it was impossible to distinguish between suspected terrorists and the civilian population and "we began creating enemies out of innocent civilians." He told a story of beating a suspected terrorist "to submission" only to discover he was a civilian trying to deliver milk to his kids.

"There were hundreds of incidents like this one," he said. "… Almost 100 percent of the time we would find that suspected terrorists turned out to be innocent civilians."

Reyes called the presence of so many troops "a sign of poor intelligence. With strong intelligence there's no need to occupy the country with [this] massive amount of troops. So we need to strengthen our intelligence, and then plan, and then execute."

He's convinced, in fact, that the escalation will only make the situation worse. "I can almost guarantee you that sending more troops will mean more civilian and US troop casualties, more homes being broken into, more children without food, more women without husbands…. Sending more troops will not make the US safer, it will only build more opposition against us." He concluded with an appeal "on behalf of truth and patriotism to consider carefully and rethink Afghanistan. More troops, more war is not the answer."

Bacevich -- a graduate of West Point and current Boston University faculty member -- also offered compelling testimony on finding an alternative to military force. He drew a parallel to the Vietnam War and President Lyndon Johnson's "tragic failure of imagination, persuading himself that there existed no alternative to a massive US troop commitment."

Bacevich said that if the objective is indeed to ensure that Afghanistan is not a "safe haven" for Al Qaeda, then one example of an alternative to escalation is to "recognize the tribal nature of Afghan politics… and to provide incentives to the tribal chiefs to govern their patch of Earth in ways consistent with our interests. In other words, just don't let Al Qaeda in. And where those incentives don't work then it might be necessary for us to engage in some kind of a punitive action… to eliminate any elements of Al Qaeda." He also spoke of building more "robust defenses" at home, denying terrorist networks financial resources through less dependence on foreign oil, and emphasizing smart police work and intelligence sharing which is more effective and cheaper.

Senator Russ Feingold -- one of the earliest of a growing number of Democrats to question President Obama's policy -- pointed out that increasing the number of troops "may have no lasting positive impact so long as there are safe havens for militants in Pakistan…. [it] may further destabilize the situation in Pakistan to the detriment of US national security."

Bacevich agreed. "Even if we could magically wave our wand, and tomorrow have the Afghanistan problem be solved," he said, "…what exactly would we have achieved in a strategic sense…? In many respects the larger problem is in neighboring Pakistan. To invest enormous resources in Afghanistan I think is allowing technical considerations to take precedence over strategic thinking." (A point which seems all the more compelling in light ofrecent events in Pakistan.)

"What about the possibility that an escalation in Afghanistan can actually be more destabilizing to Pakistan?" Sen. Feingold asked. "In other words, in terms of militants spilling back over into that border. Is that a fair concern or not?

"I think it's a very real concern," Bacevich said. "…To some measurable degree, in places like Afghanistan, increasing the US presence actually increases the dimensions of the problem."

Even supporters of President Obama's policy expressed doubt about the prospects for success. Captain Westley Moore said -- even with the escalation -- the number of troops for the mission at hand is still "paltry." (He's right, if one follows General Petraeus' counterinsurgency principles it's been suggested we would need upward of 400,000 troops.) At the CPC forum, Hekmat Karzai, Director of the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies in Kabul, said: "Counterinsurgency is supposed to be about 80 percent political and 20 percent military… but in Afghanistan we have had over 90 percent of our resources allocated towards military, about 8 percent towards development."

Retired Major General Paul Eaton -- who was charged with rebuilding the Iraqi Armed Forces from 2003-04 and later became an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration -- was also at the CPC forum. He quoted his son's commander in Afghanistan who said, "I don't need any more combat power. I need agriculture experts, I need water engineers, I need doctors, nurses, dentists…."

CPC Policy Advisor Bill Goold posed a critical question as to whether US and NATO forces are widely "viewed as foreign occupiers", and if so, "what military strategy could possibly succeed?"

Clare Lockhart, who served as a UN advisor in Afghanistan during the 2001 Bonn process -- a meeting of Afghans under UN auspices to help the transition to a permanent government and constitution -- said there is indeed "a risk" of the perception of the military as a foreign occupation.

Karzai pointed out that in 2004-05 Afghan support for the international forces was over 80 percent, and that support has now fallen to "the high 40s."

In a dramatic moment, Rep. John Conyers arrived during the forum to make a statement against escalation: "As one who supported the 44th President before nearly everybody else, I want you to understand that my reasons for thinking this is a mistake is not based on the fact that I think I'm smarter than Barack Obama. I think he's the smartest political person in the United States. But I think he's getting some terrible advice. And so I'm here to help straighten that out, because I want him to stay on track…. My first suggestion is that we're making precisely the same mistake that we've been making for six years in Iraq…. [There] is a very suspicious, uneasy feeling among a number of people that this is the beginning of an open-ended situation, that no matter how well tailored it is, no matter how carefully thought out it is… we're getting into another hole…."

Conyers is absolutely right. The best thing anyone can do right now to support President Obama is to advise against digging us deeper into what could become a quagmire. Senator Kerry promised more hearings, a thorough vetting of all alternatives, and that the committee will exercise its oversight authority. Let's hope he follows through. Now is also a good time to let your legislators know you are against escalation and that you want to see more hearings that explore alternatives.

As Corporal Reyes suggested, it's time to stop chasing ghosts in Afghanistan.

With reporting from Capitol Hill by Nation Reporter/Researcher Greg Kaufmann

Comments (22)

1. but ms. vandal hovel,

   everyone knows it's the american way to fix something by breaking it.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 04/27/2009 @ 12:12pm

2. just kidding guys.

   but this "war" is really stupid.

   didn't your mother teach you to not pick at scabs..

   Posted by frosty zoom at 04/27/2009 @ 12:15pm

3. If we are supposedly in afghanistan as part of GWs "Global war on terror", what is the end game? A democratic country? How would that prevent terrorists? We need to get out, and use our resources in combating the cause not the symptoms of terrorism.

   People don't strap a bomb to their bodies and blow themselves up because they "hate freedom". No they do it because they have little education, no opportunities, have seen their families suffer, have no hope for a better life. But the promise that they are helping their people, will have a bunch of virgins in heaven and that they are doing G*ds will convinces them. How does bombing wedding parties from a drone reduce the threat of terrorism? We cannot use convential warfare to fight guerrillas, the British learned that during the Revolutionary War, and we should have learned from Vietnam, and watching the USSR stagnate in its own Afghanistan.

   Lets get the F out now, let spend those resources here at home where they could actually do some good.

   Posted by Extraneous at 04/27/2009 @ 12:27pm

4. The global climate change conference in Copenhagen in Dec will consider, inter al, the recent scientific paper predicting the virtual disappearance of the Himalayan glaciers in 10-15 years.

   As a billion people depend on water from those glaciers , the water wars to come very soon there will make the phony Afghan war for a secure pipeline to a Pakistani port look like the ludicrous stupid enterprise it is.

   Posted by sloper at 04/27/2009 @ 1:32pm

5. Obama is overplaying the bipartisan thing. I think he's afraid to rankle the huge military machine. If there's no war, what do they have to do? If there's peace, they are unemployed; if there's war, they are employed, simple as that.

   It's a sad thing to realize, like frosty says, that we seem to excel at blowing things up, breaking things. We need to get out of that place. But the real problem is that the military is now one of our biggest employers. I guess that's gonna be the new bumper sticker:

   'WILL KILL FOR FOOD'

   or

   'THIS CAR BRAKES FOR UNNECESSARY WARS'

   Posted by ficheye at 04/27/2009 @ 1:47pm

6. hiiiiiiiii friend's i read your comment's and plost's and i feel good and improve more knowledge and information to read that but i want to know more something about that so plz clear my data's i am thankfull to you dear......

   ============================ sonu ============================

   [url=http://www.drugstrategies.org/Treatment/Iowa]Iowa Drug Treatment Centers[/url]-Iowa Drug Treatment Centers

   Posted by praveen12 at 04/27/2009 @ 2:00pm

7. hiiiiiiiii friend's i read your comment's and plost's and i feel good and improve more knowledge and information to read that but i want to know more something about that so plz clear my data's i am thankfull to you dear...... Conyers is absolutely right. The best thing anyone can do right now to support President Obama is to advise against digging us deeper into what could become a quagmire. Senator Kerry promised more hearings, a thorough vetting of all alternatives, and that the committee will exercise its oversight authority. ============================ sonu ============================

   <a href="http://www.drugstrategies.org/Treatment/Iowa">Iowa Drug Treatment Centers</a>-Iowa Drug Treatment Centers

   Posted by praveen12 at 04/27/2009 @ 2:02pm

8. hiiiiiiiii friend's i read your comment's and plost's and i feel good and improve more knowledge and information to read that but i want to know more something about that so plz clear my data's i am thankfull to you dear...... Conyers is absolutely right. The best thing anyone can do right now to support President Obama is to advise against digging us deeper into what could become a quagmire. Senator Kerry promised more hearings, a thorough vetting of all alternatives, and that the committee will exercise its oversight authority. ============================ sonu ============================ [url="http://www.drugstrategies.org/Treatment/Iowa"]]owa Drug Treatment Centers[/url]-Iowa Drug Treatment Centers

   Posted by praveen12 at 04/27/2009 @ 2:03pm

9. hiiiiiiiii friend's i read your comment's and plost's and i feel good and improve more knowledge and information to read that but i want to know more something about that so plz clear my data's i am thankfull to you dear...... Conyers is absolutely right. The best thing anyone can do right now to support President Obama is to advise against digging us deeper into what could become a quagmire. Senator Kerry promised more hearings, a thorough vetting of all alternatives, and that the committee will exercise its oversight authority. ============================ sonu ============================

   [url="http://www.drugstrategies.org/Treatment/Iowa"]Iowa Drug Treatment Centers[/url]-Iowa Drug Treatment Centers

   Posted by praveen12 at 04/27/2009 @ 2:04pm

10. Posted by praveen12 at 04/27/2009 @ 2:04pm | ignore this person

    ignore this person <-------- BOT

    Posted by Extraneous at 04/27/2009 @ 2:42pm

11. ignore this person <-------- BOT Posted by Extraneous at 04/27/2009 @ 2:42pm

    I'm pretty sure that he just sent me an email telling me that I won the lottery. I'm gonna be rich!

    Posted by ficheye at 04/27/2009 @ 3:03pm

12. I'm pretty sure that he just sent me an email telling me that I won the lottery. I'm gonna be rich!

    Congrats! lol. I wonder if its the same bot that keeps calling me at home, at work and on my cell and telling me that the car warranty that I never owned is about to expire.

    Posted by Extraneous at 04/27/2009 @ 3:20pm

13. Congrats! lol. I wonder if its the same bot that keeps calling me at home, at work and on my cell and telling me that the car warranty that I never owned is about to expire.

    Posted by Extraneous at 04/27/2009 @ 3:20pm | ignore this person | warn this person

    when i find the folks responsible for those damned things i will track them down and flay the skin from their bodies before i torture them to death...

    have a nice day! :)

    Posted by dexter666 at 04/27/2009 @ 3:53pm

14. Posted by dexter666 at 04/27/2009 @ 3:53pm. Post photos when you do. I once waited through the computer to tell them to take me off the list. Once through, and halfway into my sentence, they just hung up on me. Still getting those calls...

    Posted by Extraneous at 04/27/2009 @ 5:17pm

15. No KVH, we are going in just to embarrass all your marxist friends by bringing peace to a nation they sought to destroy! Get over it!

    Posted by comancheamerican at 04/27/2009 @ 5:34pm

16. Get over it!

    Posted by comancheamerican at 04/27/2009 @ 5:34pm

    Right we will keep killing them until there is peace. We will continue to bomb and murder civilians (or they could be illegal enemy combatants), spend trillions of tax payer dollars and in time 10 to 100 years maybe we will have peace in afghanistan. That'll teach those commie bastards, HA!

    Posted by Extraneous at 04/27/2009 @ 5:54pm

17. you mean like the british and the russians did?

    or do you mean like the way the comanche nation was brought peace?

    Posted by frosty zoom at 04/27/2009 @ 5:54pm

18. I'm stunned that the Messiah hasn't just sprinkled magic pixie dust on Afghanistan and solved the problem.

    Posted by jimmylove at 04/28/2009 @ 1:16pm

19. Can you dig in a quagmire?

    It already *is* a quagmire as far as the Obama admin is concerned. The whole point of that metaphor, even without mixing it, is that you can't get out even if, or even though you want to.

    Obama is a man of empire. He believes "we can't" leave Iraq or Afghanistan.

    He is raising the overall military budget. Since Gates has also announced cuts to boondoggle Cold War weapons systems, that means both the money diverted from them plus the newly raised expenditures are going into activities better suited to maintaining empire.

    No cutting of the thousands of military bases in 140 countries. No mothballing of ships in grotesquely outsized navy.

    And now he's made it clear that he will defend a culture of impunity for securocrats who commit torture, war crimes and other violations of human rights.

    Posted by Fudu at 04/28/2009 @ 2:05pm

20. Pax Americana will succeed in destroying America, where outside force ses could not. We are on the same road as the old USSR, overextending our power and economy to the point where we are no longer able to defend ourselves at home.

    The giant military globalizations of the 20th century is no longer necessary, indeed it is a sure way to accomplish the above. We can not, will not be able to shape the world to fit our desires. Neither do we want a world that achieves the lifestyle of present day America.

    The planet can not support 3 billion or more people striving to live as we do. But, at the same time we ourselves are facing climate changes that will force us (and the world) to rethink what is good and acceptable.

    Posted by JoBangles at 04/28/2009 @ 3:42pm

21. Posted by JoBangles at 04/28/2009 @ 3:42pm

    Right on.

    Posted by ficheye at 04/28/2009 @ 6:52pm

22. To all people who care to comment here, an article in "Harper's Magazine", entitled: "Jesus killed Mohammed", may enlighten them about the two stupid and failing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the grave problems we will have at home with the returning military personnel, especially, if unemployed.

    unhopeful

    Posted by waabdou at 04/29/2009 @ 11:30am