Gates Seeks More Military And Civilian Support In Afghanistan
(New York Times)…Thom Shanker, Oct 15, 2008.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Wednesday that the mission to stabilize Afghanistan had shown significant gaps in the ability of the United States and NATO to integrate their civilian and military efforts, and he warned that it “remains to be seen” whether the allies could better coordinate their work.

The defense secretary’s grim assessment came in an evening address to the United States Institute of Peace in which he described the Afghanistan security and stabilization mission as “the test, on the grandest scale, of what we are trying to achieve when it comes to integrating the military and civilian, the public and private, the national and international.”

Mr. Gates said the challenge of better integrating civilian and military missions was vital for more than just success in Afghanistan. “The security of the American people will depend increasingly on our ability to head off the next insurgency or arrest the collapse of another failing state,” he said. “These are the things that we must be able to do as a nation, as an alliance and as an international coalition.”

“That country has become the laboratory for what I’ve been talking about for the past year — how to apply and fully integrate the full range of instruments of national power and international cooperation to protect our security and our vital interests.”

Speech: Dean Acheson Lecture – U.S. Institute of Peace (Washington D.C.). As Prepared for Delivery by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Washington D.C., Wednesday, October 15, 2008

 

The Reality Of War In Afghanistan
(Boston Globe)…Stephen Kinzer, October 15, 2008

Despite their differences over how to pursue the US war in Iraq, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama both want to send more American troops to Afghanistan. Both are wrong. History cries out to them, but they are not listening.

Deploying more US troops in Afghanistan will intensify this highly dangerous conflict, not calm it. Compromise with Al Qaeda would be both unimaginable and morally repugnant, but the Taliban is a different force. Skillful negotiation among clan leaders, based on a genuine willingness to compromise, holds the best hope for Afghanistan. It is an approach based on reality, not emotion.

Afghanistan: A Country Locked In A Spiral Of Doom…Christina Lamb, Oct 12, 2008, London Sunday Times.
Christina Lamb has been reporting from Afghanistan for 20 years. Here she offers a chilling frontline analysis of why we cannot beat the Taliban.

Gates Urges NATO To Take On Afghan Drug Traffickers
(Washington Post)…Peter Finn

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates called on NATO allies Thursday to target Afghanistan’s drug traffickers as part of a wider effort to confront a resurgent Taliban, which he said is using heroin money to fund the insurgency.

Gates Says US Talks With Taliban Conceivable
(Financial Times)…James Blitz, October 10, 2008
Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said on Thursday night that Washington could “ultimately” contemplate the idea of negotiating with the Taliban to secure a political settlement in Afghanistan, if the Afghan government were to pursue such talks.

Gates: Political Reconciliation With Parts Of Taliban May Be Possible
(Mideast Stars and Stripes)…Jeff Schogol  October 10, 2008
…But Gates said some allies voiced concerns that taking on such a mission would put NATO troops at risk and absolve the Afghan government fighting the drug lords. NATO officials planned to discuss the matter further on Friday morning, he said.

Pentagon Sees Reconciliation With Taliban, Not Qaeda
(Reuters.com)…Kristin Roberts, Reuters, Oct 9, 2008.
…Gates said reconciliation would be the political end to the conflict in Afghanistan, but it must happen on the Afghan government’s terms and the Taliban must commit to subject itself to the sovereignty of the government.

 Joint Chiefs Chairman Is Gloomy On Afghanistan
(New York Times)…Eric Schmitt, October 10, 2008
With security and economic conditions in Afghanistan already in dire straits, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that the situation there would probably only worsen next year. 

 Mullen Urges New Strategy On Taliban
(Washington Times)…Sara A. Carter, October 10, 2008
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that U.S.-led forces are “not going to be able to kill our way to victory in Pakistan and Afghanistan” and a new strategy is needed to suppress a resurgent Taliban movement before it’s too late.

Joint Chiefs Head: ‘Enablers’ Needed In Troop-Scarce Afghanistan
(Christian Science Monitor)…Gordon Lubold, October 10, 2008
The Pentagon’s top officer is pushing to get more helicopters, remote control aircraft, and other “enablers” to Afghanistan to make up for what remains a shortage of American troops there.

U.S. Plans To Train Afghanistan Tribal Militias
(Los Angeles Times)…Julian E. Barnes, October 10, 2008
Confronting the prospect of failure after seven years in Afghanistan, the U.S. military is crafting a new strategy that is likely to expand the power and reach of that country’s tribal militias while relying less on the increasingly troubled central government.

Financial Crisis Will Not Detract From Taliban Fight, Says John Hutton
(London Daily Telegraph)…Rosa Prince
…His plea for more equipment as well as troops, was echoed at the meeting by Robert Gates, the US defence secretary. Germany has announced to increase its troops in Afghanistan, but rejected Washington’s request to station them in the south, where most of the combat action takes place. 

 Brother Of Afghan President To Give Up Seat In Parliament
(New York Times)…Timoor Shah, October 10, 2008
An older brother of President Hamid Karzai who has one of the worst attendance records in Afghanistan’s Parliament said Thursday that he was giving up his legislative seat. The brother, Abdul Qayum Karzai, cited kidney problems as the cause.

Time For An Afghan Surge(Time)…John McCain, Time, July 28, 2008

…The Afghan army is already a great success story: a multiethnic, battle-tested fighting force. The problem is, it’s too small, with a projected strength of only 80,000 troops. We need to at least double the size of the Afghan army and establish an international trust fund to provide long-term financing for the effort

Refocusing On The Central Front, (Time)…Barack Obama, July 28, 2008

…I will send at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan and use this commitment to seek greater contributions–with fewer restrictions–from NATO allies. I will focus on training Afghan security forces and supporting an Afghan judiciary.

Afghan Escalation, (Washington Post)…Editorial, July 6, 2008

Every year, the number of troops grows — and so do enemy attacks.

There are 66,000 foreign troops from 40 countries in Afghanistan, including 37,500 Americans; the force under NATO command has grown by 20,000 in 18 months. But Taliban attacks are up 40 percent in eastern provinces this year compared with 2007, and there has been another spike in coalition casualties.

U.S. Sounds Afghan Alarm, (Wall Street Journal)…Yochi Dreazen, In a remarkable shift, Afghanistan, where U.S. officials were once confident of victory, is now rivaling Iraq as the biggest cause of concern for American policymakers.

Pentagon Report Anticipates Rising Violence In Afghanistan, (Washington Post)…Josh White
…Attacks in Afghanistan have shown a dramatic upturn in recent weeks, appearing to validate the findings in the report, the first of its kind regarding the country.

Pentagon Paints A Bleak Picture For Afghan South
(Los Angeles Times)…Peter Spiegel and Julian E. Barnes
…Any extension of the Marines’ tour is likely to be controversial. Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said they will not stay more than seven months. And Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, has said any deployment past October would put unacceptable stress on his ground forces.

New Deadly Attack Raises Coalition Toll
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)…Unattributed
One member of the U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan was killed and five more wounded in the country’s increasingly turbulent west, the military said Friday.