Madeleine Albright: Stop Creating More Terrorists in Afghanistan

The last time the Democrats ran a war, it was "Madeleine's war" when we bombed Serbia. For the Global Viewpoint Network, former secretary of state Madeleine Albright weighs in on Obama's deliberations on Afghanistan. Here is an excerpt:

Nathan Gardels: A big debate is raging in the Obama administration between those who seek a troop increase and nation-building strategy in Afghanistan - counter-insurgency - versus those who seek a more narrow counterterrorism strategy focused solely on fighting Al Qaeda and employing drone attacks. Where do you come down?

Madeleine Albright: Today's dilemmas, of course, are the result of not paying enough attention to Afghanistan while fighting in Iraq for eight years. So, in a sense, we are starting from scratch there. US national security interests dictate that eliminating Al Qaeda is the primary focus. That means sorting out their relationship with the Taliban and determining what real connection or overlap there is between the two. My own sense is that the lines between the two are very fuzzy - and therefore the lines between counterinsurgency vs. counterterrorism are quite unclear.

Rather than positing these strategies as alternatives, what we need to focus on is not creating more terrorists. On the one hand, if the drone or bombing attacks miss their targets and kill a lot of civilians, that creates animosity and recruits terrorists. On the other hand, if you don't provide security for the Afghan people, they are terrified. Out of fear, they will cooperate with the terrorists.

I do think Obama is doing the right thing by weighing his strategy decision carefully. I've always thought it is better to have a confident president than a certain one. A confident president is comfortable enough in his own capacity for judgment to solicit a broad array of opinions from advisers who might disagree.

Gardels: You do seem to fall on the side of a broader commitment in Afghanistan because you want to establish security and stability as a precondition for getting out.

Albright: Neither the US nor NATO can be responsible for Afghanistan for the rest of our lives. The bottom line is that the Afghans have to be able to operate on their own. But we have to help them get there - training the Afghan Army and police forces, as well as providing reconstruction assistance and a viable governing structure. We need to have this debate now so the American public understands what is at stake. Eight years have been wasted and there is no more time to waste. We've got to chart a course and stick to it.

Elsewhere in the interview, we talked about how Obama's strategy is working on Iran as
well as the distinctive "pin diplomacy" during her time at the UN and in the State Department.
If she were to meet Iranian president Ahmadinejad today, she says, she would wear green
in honor of the pro-democracy movement in Iran.

The full interview can be found on the Christian Science Monitor.

 

 

Comments

[samrioglu]

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If Afghan's are urged to different direction out of their peculiar cultural lives, they're connection (direct/indirect) with the talebay may go on. Social genuine policies must be implemented rather than military operations!

[samrioglu]

If Afghan's are urged to different direction out of their peculiar cultural lives, they're connection (direct/indirect) with the terrorists may go on.

[vascopyjama]

Why are we still backing Karzai? Everyone knows the whole election was a joke.

[Boadicea]

Thanks for posting. I'll be looking for your postings in future.

[TRYKER]

The way to "win" in Afghanistan is to bring services to the people.
Take that millions $$ tank that is rolling down their streets out...and pull in a fully stocked Library.
Take that millions $$ truck full of soldiers and guns out...and roll in a Well stocked Clinic.
That those missile launchers out...and roll in a School.
Put Americans to work building pre-fabs of everything and ship them over. A win - win.
If America brought wells and schools and clinics and Libraries in place of "everything destructive", they would impress the citizens that America stands for Peace and Progress not KILLING, KILLING all the time.

[TRYKER]

The citizens would never forget the day their new clinic rolled up on the back of the semi truck and was installed. If we brought pre-fab schools into every village that was in desperate need, those Afghans would be friends of America for as long as they could remember.
Madeleine is right, we don't make friends with bombs!! Ferchrissakes.
We don't want to be the bully on the world's stage, no matter how many neocons think that's just hunky-dory.
We need the diplomacy of the State Dept. advising our "operations" of winning friends. The military knows only one thing...fight and kill. That's how they get their promotions and those almighty Medals for their chests, kinda like a Mr. T. for the elite. Better they should buy a gold chain and go home and read about how this country was founded.
No where is there a Department of Offense...it's supposed to be "Defense", but what are we defending in our occupations? America is not under attack.
When terrorists bombed in Spain and Great Britain, they didn't take off and bomb the hell out of anyplace, they arrested the wrong doers. DUH.

[Mason]

Ms. Albright says, "The bottom line is that the Afghans have to be able to operate on their own."

Afghans have to decide what they want; they have to chart the course they want to take to get there; and they have to do what they need to do to realize their goals. If they are not in charge, which they aren't because Karzai stole the election, Afghans justifiably will believe our military is excluding them from the process of determining their own future, and just like us here at home, if we were faced with the same situation, they will define the foreign nation's military as an invader and their oppressor -- the enemy they must vanquish, no matter what it takes, and no amount of chocolate bars smiling soldiers hand out to children will change anything.

Soldiers are trained to fight wars and kill people, not to make friends. The past is written in blood and the Afghans will avenge it.

God help any American in Afghanistan, if we unleash Halliburton and the rest of the predatory and immensely corrupt corporations to rebuild their country as we did in Iraq. God help us too because we'll have to pick-up the tab for the no-bid-cost-plus contracts to build amazingly useful things like showers that electrocute people.

The bottom line is Al Quaida is a shadow of its former self, it's located in Pakistan, and we need to get out of Afghanistan NOW.

[GardenerNorCal]

The argument was made eight years ago that Afghanstan was the training ground of Al Qaeda, whoever those phantoms may be. The ones that bombed our country were mainly Saudis. Today Israel is telling us Iran is their breeding ground. What will tomorrow bring? Another war? How many can we afford to finance? We can't afford to provide health care services to our own citizens.

The only actual product our nation now provides the world is war. How proud does that make you

[GardenerNorCal]

I wonder what direction Israel wants us to take? Haven't they been the driving force behind both these wars from the beginning?

I don't remember any of the hijackers being from Afghanastan or Iraq. They were Saudis. But I remember Israeli politicians coming on the news while the dust was still settling and telling us we had to wage war.

Exactly what actions did we take against Saudi Arabia?

[seawolf77]

Think Jim Mora's meltdown "Terrorists. You gotta be kiddin me. Terrrorsts. Terror? Terrorrist. " What I am worried about are all these young American men we are training to be killers and where do they come home to. So I ask you again what am I supposed to be afraid of? Terrorists?

[Tony Gagliano]

Will someone tell me why it takes years for Iraq and Afghanistan to get their armies ready to take on responsibility of their own security? The last I knew America has a total of 9 weeks of boot camp for our military then they are ready for combat. Are these countries loaded with inept young men that it takes years to get them ready? Viva America's military.

[trubluelefty]

I've been there, worked there.......... those guys are not getting ready to fight anyone except the USA. I understand what it feels like to be "invaded" having spent time in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. Who thinks the Afghani people want American's in their land? Why should they for what? So they can be raped, sodomized, and destroyed like Iraq. ............ The 'inept' young men are mobolizing against the enemy.

[shivers]

If you know the history and people of Afghanistan, you'd know Afghans are some of the toughest people on earth. Don't be a Fox news guy (or for that matter, a Russian in the 80's guy) and make broad sweeping, Amerocentric judgements on a complex situation.

How about, why can't we get our own politicians to regulate or let implode mega-banks that were bankrupt instead of taking our money and giving it to them with no questions?

[Yurasis Dragon]

In over 200 years no one has defeated the Afghani's in their homeland.
No one.
Many have tried, many have died.
America isn't there for "democracy" or to protect the Afghani people.
America is there for the oil and gas that north in the 'Stans.
Big Oil wants a pipeline from the 'Stans down to the ocean.

Our soldiers are, once again, fighting, killing and dying for Big Business.
And Big Business Owns our politicians.

You want to stop the madness?
It MUST begin at home with REAL political reform.
Reform of financial contributions; reform of duration of office; methods for firing representatives who DON'T represent their constituents.

This will begin to bring real sanity into our world, of which we are only one country, less than 5% of the total population, but a major contributor to many of the worst problems.

[TRYKER]

"methods for firing representatives who DON'T represent their constituents." Yurasis Dragon

Phew, this would empty our our congress in one fell swoop. Why isn't there a contract that states: If you work against the citizens wishes and their welfare, you are automatically recalled. ??

It is an abomination that "our" reps can continuously work against our best interests and stay in office. What kind of dumb is that?
We are being screwed daily, weekly, monthly and yearly...every blessed day they make another sweeping change to our security and our wealth, which leaves us less secure and closer to poverty.
This is total misadventure in Afghanistan where we seem to be running interference for the corporate crooks to gain that pipeline, sacrificing Afghan and American lives for another LIE. It isn't all about al Qaeda.

[duxguts]

The Afghan people look at Karzai and see us. Who can blame them for being cynical about the whole think. I read recently where the Afghan police are so corrupt that poor farmers turn to the Taliban for help. Same thing happened in Vietnam.

[LuckyGrad68]

The Viet Cong were very successful at helping the poor people who cooperated with them and slashing the throats of those who didn't. One major difference I can see is that no one in Vietnam helped people who came here to attack us and of course would do so again.

[GardenerNorCal]

I don't remember any Afghanis being on those planes. Correct me if I am wrong but weren't the hijackers Saudis.

[SurrealPumpkin]

We're in danger of making the same mistake we always do, getting bored and walking away.

The situation in Afghanistan is appalling. Our best chance to meet our own security needs is to grit our teeth and continue the work. By all means it can't be an open ended, but at the very least we need to work to help the Afghans make real choices regarding their future.

We funded the Taliban in our effort to curtail the Soviet Union
We walked away when the Taliban succeeded
Are we going to walk away again from problems we created? We did that before in Afghanistan.

I don't want another American to die in Afghanistan. The sad, cold fact is that it is the job of soldiers is to risk their lives for the security and safety of others. This is why we honor them. This is why they should be receiving the best we have to offer.

I think war is worse then stupid but we're in this one now. Let's see it through and give our children one less enemy to fear.

Bring on the builders. Afghanistan needs schools, clinics, a dependable, honest (reasonably) government, a cash crop other then heroin. We can help them get these things. Or we can walk away.

We can't claim to be The Super Power, The Greatest Nation on Earth, and walk away. It doesn't work that way.

[GardenerNorCal]

"We can't claim to be The Super Power, The Greatest Nation on Earth, and walk away. It doesn't work that way." I don't think the rest of the world views us that way any longer. I don't even think many US citizens see their country that way any longer.

What we can't afford to do any longer is pretend we weren't in some way responsible for the corrupt Karzain government or the incursion of Al Qaeda in Pakistan with our aid and permission. I remember Bush and Cheney telling us Bin Laden was no longer a concern. I remember them taking the focus off Afghanastan and placing it on Iraq. I remember all the rosey stories of how much we had improved the lives of Aghanis it was all media lies. And now we are faced with a bigger mess than we had in the beginning.

[SurrealPumpkin]

I think we always were delusional about the "Greatest Nation" schtick. We're great, I'm proud to be an American, but I realize that other nations are great as well, and their citizens are just as proud of them as I am of American.

[GarryLad]

We need less of ancients such as Albright as we do do of men and women of genius. In the war between the states, the Union developed thousands of patents on weaponry while the south developed none.

We need genius now. Something better than rhetoric. Something more than ancient songs. We must have ideas that will kill the terrorist while keeping our liberty. Something that will allow America to lead the world into an era where my existence will not be a problem to another persons.

I lack her voice, but I am sure that Ms. Albright could come up with some of her own thoughts rather than the thoughts put to her by briefing notes. I do wish she had something so say. She is so wise.

[shivers]

you don't look to kill every terrorist--you look to root out the cause of terrorism. It's like trying to kill every termite instead of the nest.

[Richard Walden - Huffpost Blogger]

"Madeleine's War" on Serbia saw the U.S. use depleted uranium munitions in Serbia and Kosovo to attack tanks and other fortified vehicles, resulting a few years later in a spike in cancer rates as the radioactive dust settled into people's lungs.

I was in the room in Los Angeles when a high school student asked then-Secretary of State Albright whether she knew that this had happened. She grew testy and answered, "I am not the Armourer" of the U.S. military.

Well, someone should take responsibility for War's consequences. Albright was also the leading voice as US Ambassador to the United Nations in pulling Belgian peacekeepers out of Rwanda so that when the genocide of 1994 began there were too few international forces to stop it.

[GarryLad]

As a North American Indian, I have had many people come to me an apologize for the genocide. I on the the other hand, have not had one that has allowed our voice when it comes to the death that overtook us.

As a North American Indian and an American, I hate the genocide but I have never relied upon this fact to hide the truth to what I wanted to say. Ms. Albright has used this fact to give weight to her words without admitting the limits of her intellect. No Indian, would do such a thing. What one said was a matter of personal honour. Killing an enemy was a failure. Touching one was a victory.

I am happier as a an american indian victim of genocide. I will place mine against yours any day Madame and I certainly will not say that the death of children was a positive aspect of policy. And we are both from the same Country.

[GardenerNorCal]

I hear you. If we had used world opinion in a positive way after 09/11 instead of lashing out in unreasoned retribution like cowboys there would be fewer terrorists in the world today.

Instead we demeaned Germany, Russia and France because they had reservations about the attacks we made on Afghanastan and Iraq. We have become hated and despised because we sunk lower than those we were supposed to be fighting by resorting to torture and intrigue and held the citizens of the countries we attacked as mere colateral damage. Not even worthy of accurately reporting their losses.

[nicole473]

Regarding the munitions......are you saying that she should have been aware and thus responsible? Isn't that the job of our military?

Regarding Rwanda. As fallible human beings, we each make decisions that in retrospect are not wise. Perhaps we should consider her as a human being first, and then second, as a diplomat who has achieved much in spite of a few failures. .

I have the utmost respect for her.

[GardenerNorCal]

Why is it we should see these policy makers as humans when they make mistakes but should accept their prouncements as the word of god when they are setting policy?

[Yurasis Dragon]

Unfortunately, you are wrong.
When some accepts a post with great responsibility, they must be able, capable and willing to do the needful- even when it is admitting they/we are wrong.
If someone fails to do so, and apparently she did fail, then part of the responsibility most definitely lies on her. Or anyone else in that position.

Leadership has negative consequences too, for those who fail to lead properly.