U.S. Marines conduct a security patrol in the abandoned village of Now Zad in Helmand province, Afghanistan, April 6, 2009. The Marines are assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, which is attached to Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. James A. BurksFrom DoD Buzz:
Does the Obama administration have a strategy to turn around the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan? Not according to Democratic Senator John Kerry, who returned from a trip to Pakistan this week and promptly told reporters he didn’t think so. CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs earlier this month that he doesn’t see much of a strategy either. Instead, what the administration has presented so far is a “range of concepts,” mostly focused at the tactical level, not a strategy.
Pentagon policy chief Michele Flournoy did her best to fill in some of the blanks on the administration’s Afghan strategy in a presentation this week at CSIS, in Washington. Flournoy said the administration does in fact have a counterinsurgency strategy for Afghanistan, along with a newly developed “implementation plan.” The “core elements” of that plan are designed to: first, reverse Taliban gains and protect the populace; second, rapidly build the Afghan army and police; and third, create security so governance and development can occur.
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More News On Afghanistan
Gates to visit US Marines headed to Afghanistan -- AFP
Mullen Tours Outposts in Afghanistan -- Military.com
Britain 'cannot afford to send more troops to Afghanistan' because of the recession -- The Telegraph
U.S. Faces Rising Violence in Southern Afghanistan -- Wall Street Journal
Canadian soldier found dead on Afghan base -- Globe And Mail
11 killed in Afghan clashes -- The Nation
Combined Forces Capture Seven, Kill Two in Afghanistan -- Dvids
FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan, April 24 -- Reuters
Gates seeks to fill civilian gaps in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/Reuters
U.S. urged to focus on governance in Afghanistan -- Washington Post
Coalition Shifts Afghan Focus to South -- Voice of America
U.S. sees big progress in eastern Afghanistan -- Reuters
NATO: Drop in Afghan civilian casualties seen -- Stars And Stripes
Afghanistan backs Clinton warning on Pakistan -- AFP
Democrats Have Qualms Over War in Afghanistan -- New York Times
Taliban mean nothing to Afghanistan's hungry farmers -- Reuters