Carl Levin: Afghanistan Fight Needs Better Strategy

WASHINGTON — A leading Democrat on military matters says a better strategy and a firm resolve to succeed in Afghanistan are more important than an increase in U.S. troops there.

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Michigan Democrat Carl Levin, also says that U.S. plans should emphasize improving Afghanistan's army and police forces so they're better equipped to deal with the threat from the resurgent Taliban.

President Barack Obama has been huddling with his top advisers to consider if and how many more troops might be needed in the 8-year-old Afghanistan conflict. His military commanders are pressing him to escalate the war.

Levin spoke Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Comments

[washlib]

how about:

"A better strategy...for Levin's comeover".

it would be much more valuable

[jsgaetano]

We've seen the GOP's strategy for over eight years- double down on failure.

If you find yourself in a hole, conservative ideology tells you the only way out is to dig deeper.

[ImissBush]

good thing O grabbed tht shovel then

[MissingAmerica]

We should have been ONLY in Afghanistan. After 9/11 our focus should have been on one thing only, which is going into Afghanistan to find Osama Bin Laden and bring him to justice. Here we are more than 8 years later with an 8-year war in a country that was no threat to us and fighting in various parts of the Middle East. The Middle East is a theocracy which does not hold our capitalistic values. I fail to understand why we don't just get back to the task at hand of finding Bin Laden, putting him out of commission and simply keep forces in the area that will help to rebuild and recover, such as Peace Corps. Prior to Bush, we had become pretty much a nation promoting peace. Obama is trying to return us to that positing and we should allow him to continue acting in a more diplomatic fashion. We allowed Bush/Cheney 8 years to get us into this costly, deadly mess; can't we at least allow Obama more than 8 months to try to get us out?

[PhilipTaylor]

$250,000/year for a US Troop vs. $2,000/Year for an Afghan Troop

So 125 times more troops with training Afghans versus 1 US Troop

Plus the Afghan Troops will live and stay there!

What is so HARD to understand - Train BABY Train!

As soon as we train a couple hundred thousand Afghan Troops them we leave!

At two months per class of 10,000 troops we should be done in less than FOUR YEARS!

[AgeofReason]

I've heard several people say that we are there for the women of Afghanistan. Westerners cannot change the views of the Afghan people. Why haven't we asked the Red Crescent and moderate Islamic nations to send teachers and other humanitarian "missionaries" to help change the thinking and behavior of those who have fallen under the sway of the Taliban?

[S1m0n]

Forget strategy. The war in Afghanistan needs figure out its purpose, first, before it can worry about strategy or escallation.

[vinny]

i dislike the new strategy, making our kids mingle with the rural populace to try and cull out the taliban won't work... coalition forces need to protect the key power centers, and get that afghan army out in the field...

[Poorsarah]

The former Soviet Union, at the height of it's power, could not overtake Afghanistan. We need to listen closely to history because it doesn't lie...mixing up strategies is a great idea because it keeps the oppopnent from being able to "read" what you will do. Maybe we should use "terrorist" strategies to defeat terrorists?

[TXDeb]

Hey, remember 9/11...This war is one that must be fought, and the cowards that planned and executed 9/11 must be defeated. The president has the most difficult decision to make in how to proceed in keeping this country safe.
America has watched from afar as bombs ramdomly exploded in other parts of the world. It was always, look at whats happening over there. Well, now we know that it can happen to us, and if we don't keep the perpatrators on the run and pinned down from where they plan their attacks it will happen again.
We elected this man to do a job, so I say to all the 'monday morning quarterbacks', let him put his plan forward.

[LightShadow62]

As is stands right now adding more troops would simply be resupplying and 8 year old failed mission.
More troops may be needed but not until the mission statement is changed it will just increase the number of casualties on all sides.

[gmgl]

Yes we heard it all in Vietnam how leaving there would cause a domino effect in the region with everything going communist blah blah blah and the world ending.

Instead it was our inflation that ended since we stopped pouring so much money into a useless war (yes some of it was oil, a huge amount was the war in Vietnam too).

How exactly has Russia been hurt since they pulled out of Afganistan?

We need the money at home helping the middle class -- BADLY.

It's not like the regions powerful neighbors who be the way are all doing better than we are economically right now, can't step up to bat and afford to deal with any situation there. The worst that can happen to us is we gain domestic jobs for once instead of losing them as those neighbors have to put resources into policing their own region instead of into their infrastructure to continue thrashing us in the economic arena.

[VAforObama]

Make the international peace effort work. Bring in food, schools, and medical aid and personnel. Send so many peace folks that the Taliban cannot hide or turn around. Send a peace army.

[BlueSkyPilot]

They can't be infidels.
Now if we had hovercrafts we'd never have to set foot on there sacred land.
Come On Honda. Get those robots and haunted chairs working.

[billhodges]

Nice point but not workable, but we could have the military engineers building more roads, housing, schools and business structures. Start in a larger town and work out from there. Use the military to secure the areas where the construction is going on. Not only train the police and military but train construction workers, help develop new business opportunities for the people.

As far as I see it the way to beat the Taliban is a strong military but also a strong infrastructure built by the US and NATO countries.

[vlm1948]

Do both, that's the only way we'll change anything in that country.

[ImissBush]

ya think?

[ChelseaC]

Do you really "miss Bush?"

[ImissBush]

it s a quote from jon stewart

but the self-described "liberals" here R amazing at judging by SNs

[TJCole]

Strategy you want strategy, they're called, Strategic Bombers..!

That's one strategy...!

[mcmchugh99]

A quick exit is not an option. Believe me, if I thought there was a way to cut and run, I'd take it. I am far more interested in Obama as a domestic reformer for the next eight years than I am in his foreign policy--especially in a no-win region like the Middle East and the "stan" countries".

Nevertheless, I see no way of simply leaving Afghanistan without leaving a totally failed state on our wave. I do know this much, the war cannot be "won" by any conventional methods, and if they don't spend at least as much on the civilian side as the military side, especially social and economic development on the local and regional levels, then they have already lost the war.

[lynnbob]

Should we even assume they want economic development? Perhaps they would prefer we just leave. We are the invaders.

http://rethinkafghanistan.com/videos.php

[vippy]

Like we won in Iraq? We won't win in Afghanistan and that country has survived worse than us.
We need to get out for we are BROKE! HELLOOOOO!!!!! If countries would leave those Afghanis
alone they would fall on their feet sooner or later. Why are we there?
Our military industrial complex makes money, no doubt, and that is all that counts! Now our weapons failed our soldiers, well, what else is new. Either give more troops, which we can't afford or get out of it, simple as that. Who is McCain anyway, he has absolutely no credentials.

[ChelseaC]

mcmchugh99,
hi!
cut and run?
it's been 8 effing years!
there is no military solution-- work with the world community to provide economic/e­ducational opportunity.

[gmgl]

Yes we heard it all in Vietnam how leaving there would cause a domino effect in the region with everything going communist blah blah blah and the world ending.

Instead it was our inflation that ended since we stopped pouring so much money into a useless war (yes some of it was oil, a huge amount was the war in Vietnam too).

How exactly has Russia been hurt since they pulled out of Afganistan?

We need the money at home helping the middle class -- BADLY.

It's not like the regions powerful neighbors who be the way are all doing better than we are economically right now, can't step up to bat and afford to deal with any situation there. The worst that can happen to us is we gain domestic jobs for once instead of losing them as those neighbors have to put resources into policing their own region instead of into their infrastructure to continue thrashing us in the economic arena.