‘Little America’: Infighting On Obama Team Squandered Chance For Peace In Afghanistan -- Washington Post
In late March 2010, President Obama’s national security adviser, James L. Jones, summoned Richard C. Holbrooke to the White House for a late-afternoon conversation. The two men rarely had one-on-one meetings, even though Holbrooke, the State Department’s point man for Afghanistan, was a key member of Obama’s war cabinet.
As Holbrooke entered Jones’s West Wing office, he sensed that the discussion was not going to be about policy, but about him. Holbrooke believed his principal mission was to accomplish what he thought Obama wanted: a peace deal with the Taliban. The challenge energized Holbrooke, who had more experience with ending wars than anyone in the administration. In 1968, he served on the U.S. delegation to the Paris peace talks with North Vietnam. And in 1995, he forged a deal in the former Yugoslavia to end three years of bloody sectarian fighting.
The discussion quickly wound to Jones’s main point: He told Holbrooke that he should start considering his “exit strategy” from the administration.
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My Comment: After the election of President Obama, I started to wonder what was the end-game strategy for the White House to end the Afghan war .... more to the point .... how to position themselves to leave Afghanistan but still have in place a viable alternative to the Taliban. I must confess that I was encouraged .... and while President Obama did talk during the campaign of the need to get at the Taliban safe havens in Pakistan .... I was hopeful that he would pursue a more conciliatory policy with the goal of decreasing if not eliminating US forces in the country.
Unfortunately .... that did not happen.
The decision to send in more soldiers (the surge) needed to be followed by up by discussions with allies and certain elements of the Taliban to find some level of understanding to end the war .... but this also did not occur .... and with the tragic death of Richard Holbrooke .... was not pursued as diligently as it should have been.
The Soviets realized an important point during their conflict in Afghanistan .... that as long as the safe havens were permitted to operate in Pakistan, and having Afghan allies that were either corrupt and/or incompetent .... there was no chance of the Red Army being victorious.
The same can be said today. As long as Pakistan permits the safe havens to operate on their territory, and as long as the Kabul government remains corrupt .... the Western effort to defeat the Taliban will also end in eventual defeat.
Richard Holbrooke realized this .... and President Obama appears to also be realizing this .... or at least I hope he is. Either way .... only time will now tell.
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