The Obama Doctrine for Aghanistan
It has been a busy few months since i last picked up the keyboard, and (true to form) i return with for an analysis of the upcoming ‘Obama Doctrine’ for Afghanistan.
Somewhat leaked by Reuters this week was an article that highlights the recent shift in the US strategy towards Afghanistan. Overall, the big picture for the conception of this strategy is based on the concept of “narrowing.” There is a marked deviation from the rhetorical and ideological foundation of the Bush Administration vision for Iraq, Afghanistan and the essential assumptions about foreign policy. What may be said in general is that the new strategy will “lower expectations” to the unattainable goals of the heavily rhetorisized Bush policy. Lofty notions of setting people free all over the world through the power of democracy sounds nice, but the realization of such a goal in eight short years, by force if necessary, is practically unreasonable.
So it is thus that the president will provide some “reality” to the situation and intends to talk soberly about what is available to accomplish in Afghanistan. By the end we may find that the Afghanistan we leave behind will simply be “free enough.”
Apart from the philosophical goals of this problem Obama has placed specific emphasis on preventing terrorist organizations from operating efficiently from Afghanistan or Pakistan. To accomplish this Obama is recommitting America to developing the economy of Afghanistan through a localized strategy to improve human security. Not only increasing the troop levels (a step already taken in February this year), but also training more indigenous capability to share the load. With all of this in place it appears that Obama has decided to make Afghanistan his priority in his first term. It is an ambitious challenge for the politician often chided during the campaign as naive and inexperienced, we should all hope then, that he is a fast learner.
I will be posting on all relevant details as the new strategy is revealed over the next week…i promise.