A plan for Iraq now? The United States needed a consistent plan with goals and objectives before the Iraq War had its own link on CNN.com.
With Mission Accomplished declared in Iraq almost three years ago, no plan was set to bring troops home, enlist and train an adequate Iraqi military or raise troop numbers to necessary levels to sustain a safe Iraq. The difficulty of crafting a plan to “bring them home” is as expansive as Iraqi oil fields and nearly as dangerous. This is part of the problem with diving into a second war without finishing the first. In order to secure Iraq, we must be able to declare Mission Accomplished in Afghanistan.
Things are hard in Iraq because "Mission Accomplished" was never declared in Afghanistan, where the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were hatched.The Senlis Council, a security and policy development group with offices in Afghanistan, issued a report, “Afghanistan Five Years Later: The Return of the Taliban,” showing that much of the country is in worse poverty than before U.S. involvement and the Taliban has taken back parts of the south of the country since 2005 while the warlords regain support.
While neighboring countries have made gains in mitigating poverty in the last five years, Afghanistan is almost a generation behind and could become worse. A misguided counter-narcotics offensive to remove poppy fields failed, resulting in the hunger and mass starvation that affects much of the rural south. Millions of poor farmers languished because they had no crops. There was no plan to subsidize the farmers after destroying their livelihood. Although the U.S. and allied forces were welcomed five years ago, poverty, a high infant mortality rate and low life expectancy are some of the factors driving increased Afghan support for the Taliban.
Money is the solution. Humanitarian support and a plan to stabilize the economy will help win back support from the population and foster a neater exit from this theatre. Part of the plan could include a means to license and legitimize some of the poppy production, while at the same time phasing out opium and introducing other farming to help sustain a viable economy. Vaccinations and basic human needs should also be addressed as well.
I spoke with an Army Ranger who spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is preparing for a second Iraqi tour of dead-of-night missions which usually involve the seizure of a “person of interest.” He said waging battles in the two regions is very different. The craggy, mountainous regions in Afghanistan are harder to control because of the terrain, while in Iraq, the majority of the fighting is street combat, more in line with our troops’ training.
However, troops must guard against improvised explosive devices, suicide bombers and other new methods of warfare in both theatres of conflict. The Ranger said that Taliban warlords are taking control of large parts of the Afghan countryside. He said that while some gains are made in Afghanistan, troops are constantly driving the Taliban and warlords into caves and mountains. Tracking the opposition is difficult even with drone spy planes.
With the threat of Iran becoming a nuclear power Afghanistan becomes important as a potential staging area for the next stop in the war on terror. It is not in our best interests to call it a day in Afghanistan and hand over control to the elected central government bolstered an international peace-keeping force if the environment is not safe for our departure. A plan that included a quick offensive strike followed by money to stabilize the economy could calm the conflict and reestablish the United States as a good steward for Afghanistan.
Things are hard in Iraq because "Mission Accomplished" was never declared in Afghanistan, where the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were hatched. That is where our troop strength is needed. The idea that a road to peace leads first through Afghanistan was also suggested by President Bush. “We know that true peace will only be achieved when we give the Afghan people the means to achieve their own aspirations,” he said. Editorial Board Member-at-Large Megan Seery did not participate in this editorial. Senior Editor Dwayne Robinson abstains from all staff editorials.
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