Retired Marine Gen. James Jones, President-elect Barack Obama's pick for national-security adviser, says that a troop surge in Afghanistan will work only if an effort is also made to bolster the government. Getty ImagesFrom Wall Street Journal:
WASHINGTON -- James Jones, President-elect Barack Obama's new national security adviser, said a U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan will work only if other changes take hold there, including a strengthening of the judiciary and national police force.
In an interview Tuesday, the retired Marine Corps general said Mr. Obama's campaign pledge to move as many as 10,000 U.S. troops from Iraq to Afghanistan must mesh with a concentrated international effort to bolster government and eradicate the vast heroin trade.
"You can always put more troops into Afghanistan," he said. "But if that's all you do, you will just be prolonging the problem."
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My Comment: President Bush's administration tried the same thing in pushing for an international effort in Afghanistan .... and it fell far short. One can only hope that Retired Marine Gen. James Jones efforts will be different.