Obama Looks for the Emergency Exit

The U.S. President wants to avoid giving the impression the United States will continue to be drawn further into the Afghanistan conflict; he’s looking for an exit strategy.

Barack Obama says it’s necessary for the United States to have an exit strategy from the Afghanistan war. In a CBS interview he said the United States needed a comprehensive plan for Afghanistan and added that there also had to be an exit strategy. He wants to avoid giving the impression that the U.S. will be permanently drawn further into the Afghanistan conflict. Immediately after his inauguration, Obama gave the order for a comprehensive study of American strategy in the Hindu Kush and asked that a new strategy be developed. The plans are to be unveiled soon, at the latest for the international Afghanistan conference on 31 March in the Hague or alternatively, shortly thereafter at the NATO summit in Strasburg.

Obama’s main goal is to ensure al-Qaeda is no longer able to attack the United States or its allies in concert with the Taliban. In order to do that Obama said, “We may need to build up economic capacity in Afghanistan. We may need to improve our diplomatic efforts in Pakistan.”

Obama characterized the decision to send an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan as the most difficult he’s had to make thus far because he had to make it prior to the change to a new Afghanistan policy. Media reports say that the basis of the new strategy is an increase in the numbers of Afghan military and police, inclusion of “moderate” members of the Taliban and stronger diplomatic initiatives in the region, particularly with Pakistan. Civilian reconstruction efforts are also to be increased, but an increase in air attacks on suspected Taliban strongholds was also announced.

The newspaper Guardian in Great Britain reported on Monday that the U.S. was considering having an Afghan prime minister who would share power with President Hamid Karzai. In addition, aid money would no longer be given to the central government in Kabul but would, instead, be given directly to the provinces.

According to the Guardian report, the reason behind this decision is disenchantment with the Karzai government due to concerns over corruption and incompetence. Because there appears to be no realistic alternative candidate to Karzai for the coming elections, this step is being considered as a way to limit his power. Obama must now decide whether the plan is actually to be implemented.

European governments are already behind the plan, according to the Guardian. The newspaper quoted one senior European official as saying, “There needs to be a deconcentration of power. We need someone next to Karzai, a sort of chief executive, who can get things done, who will be reliable for us and accountable to the Afghan people.” The Afghan constitution makes no provision for a Prime Minister. Karzai himself is widely seen throughout Afghanistan as a powerless puppet of the United States.