Obama statement on Afghanistan: Two more brigades

Posted By Laura Rozen Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 12:06 AM Share

Statement by President Barack Obama on Afghanistan:

There is no more solemn duty as President than the decision to deploy our armed forces into harm’s way. I do it today mindful that the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan demands urgent attention and swift action. The Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan, and al Qaeda supports the insurgency and threatens America from its safe-haven along the Pakistani border.
To meet urgent security needs, I approved a request from Secretary Gates to deploy a Marine Expeditionary Brigade later this spring and an Army Stryker Brigade and the enabling forces necessary to support them later this summer. This increase has been requested by General McKiernan and supported by Secretary Gates, the Joint Chiefs and the Commander of Central Command. General McKiernan’s request for these troops is months old, and the fact that we are going to responsibly drawdown our forces in Iraq allows us the flexibility to increase our presence in Afghanistan.
This reinforcement will contribute to the security of the Afghan people and to stability in Afghanistan. I recognize the extraordinary strain that this deployment places on our troops and military families. I honor their service, and will give them the support they need.
This increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires. That is why I ordered a review of our policy upon taking office, so we have a comprehensive strategy and the necessary resources to meet clear and achievable objectives in Afghanistan and the region. This troop increase does not pre-determine the outcome of that strategic review. Instead, it will further enable our team to put together a comprehensive strategy that will employ all elements of our national power to fulfill achievable goals in Afghanistan. As we develop our new strategic goals, we will do so in concert with our friends and allies as together we seek the resources necessary to succeed.

EXPLORE:AFGHANISTAN, MILITARY, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

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5:49 AM ET

February 18, 2009

Obama and NSC should contact these AFG - PAK experts

The usual gang of academics (Vali Nasr, Barnett Rubin, Ahmed Rashid, etc) that circulate from administration to administration are good but should be handled with care. They don't know any more than State/INR, Pentagon's J-5 Council of Colonels, DIA Afg-Pak Analytical Cells, and the Agency's NESA and targeting analysts.

The Obama NSC should reach out beyond this group -- to people like experienced veterans of the Afghan-Pakistan affairs with a background in government and academic like Rich Smyth (at the U.S. Army War College), retired Ambassador Peter Tomsen (Special Envoy to the Afghan Resistance, who knows all of the big players in Afghanistan), Mir Hekmat Sadat (an Afghan-American scholar and practioner at State Dept and one of the War Colleges), Nancy Dupree (she's in Kabul and if you don't know her then you are should not be working the Afghan portfolio--try Uganda), Mike Metrinko (at the US Army War College, he was the political afffairs brain of the US Embassy in Kabul and actually opened up the embassy after a 20 year hiatus), and Ambassador Mike Malinowski (served DCM to Afghanistan during the late 1970s and also as General Consul in Peshawar and knows all of the top and middle players in Pakistan, India and most importantly Afghanistan).