Defining Success in Afghanistan
Here’s the video of Monday’s Defining Success in Afghanistan panel discussion at American Enterprise Institute. I watched it live and thought it very informative and thought provoking – whether you completely agree with a particular view on the war or not.
The AEI-ISW report, which is the subject of this event, is available here.
About this event via AEI: The US strategy in Afghanistan can succeed, according to a new report by Frederick W. Kagan and Kimberly Kagan released Friday. Mr. Kagan, resident scholar and director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, and Ms. Kagan, founder and president of the Institute for the Study of War, laid out their main arguments in “Defining Success in Afghanistan” Monday at AEI. AEI’s Danielle Pletka underscored that this war is little understood by the American public and that insufficient effort has been made to illuminate the enemy insurgency, the nature of international efforts, and Afghan self-governance. Ms. Kagan gave an overview of the situation on the ground, pointing out that International Security Assistance Force troops inflicted unprecedented damage to al Qaeda in southern Helmand and Kandahar provinces throughout 2010. On the issue of a stable Afghan state, Mr. Kagan argued that longstanding Afghan history and tradition suggest that self-governance can be enduring, noting in particular the indigenous process by which Pashtuns achieve consensus among their tribal leaders. Afghans see the current hypercentralized government as illegitimate because it lacks the proper checks on executive power and is rampant with corruption, fueling the insurgency. While terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan are of great concern, Mr. Kagan argued that dismantling the local networks used to carry out attacks within Afghanistan will render those sanctuaries less significant. Andrew Exum, who served as a civilian adviser to General Stanley A. McChrystal in Afghanistan, said that a strict counterterrorism mission would be difficult now and would not likely help achieve US objectives, but he raised concerns over the regenerative nature of the enemy. He added that he will withhold judgment on the significance of 2010’s military successes until next summer. He also emphasized that the war is fought in phases and that the public needs to be prepared for additional fighting in the future. General Jack Keane compared the war in Iraq with that in Afghanistan and expressed optimism that with the right strategy in place, a new 2014 time frame, and the exceptional leadership of General David Petraeus, there is real hope for success in Afghanistan.
