New Secretary of Defense’s Surprise Afghanistan Visit Was to Invigorate Troops & Declare Determination

On July 9, the new U.S. Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, paid an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. This was his first visit to Kabul since he assumed the post on July 1. Panetta claimed that he held an optimistic attitude about defeating al-Qaida and that the U.S. army’s victory in this battle is approaching.

After heading the Central Intelligence Agency for two and a half years, Panetta started his administration of the Pentagon at the beginning of the month. On the road to Kabul, he told reporters, “I think now is the moment following what happened with bin Laden.” He said he believes the U.S. is “…within reach of strategically defeating al-Qaida.” He also said, “It is time to put maximum pressure on them because I do believe that if we continue this effort that we really can cripple al-Qaida as a threat to this country.”

The Secretary of Defense stated, “Having gotten bin Laden, we’ve now identified some of the key leadership within al-Qaida, both in Pakistan as well as in Yemen and other areas.” He also said, “There are 10 to 20 key leaders among Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in North Africa.” He also believed that Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden’s second in command and now the leader of the group, still resides in Pakistan’s tribal region. He mentioned U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki, a top figure in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, who, he believed, lives in Yemen.

Discussing the troop withdrawal with Afghanistan’s president

On the same day Panetta arrived in Kabul, he conducted a talk with Afghanistan’s President Karzai. Both discussed details of July’s troop withdrawal. Panetta also exchanged views with Karzai about constructing Afghanistan’s own security force. The U.S. has had a stressful relationship with Karzai for many years. Afghanistan strongly complained about the U.S. army’s air raids, which had caused numerous deaths. Panetta revealed that during his career as the director of the CIA, he had built good relations with President Karzai and hoped to start to construct a “much better relationship.”

This is the first visit to Kabul since Panetta left the CIA. The major goal of this visit is to meet with the Commanding General of the Multi-National Force, David Petraeus, to discuss the military situation in Afghanistan and problems faced by the U.S. and NATO armed forces. General Petraeus will return to the U.S. soon to fill Panetta’s previous position as director of the CIA. Panetta said that he was optimistic that a new U.S. military and civilian leadership team in Afghanistan could mark a new beginning in the nations’ partnership.

Panetta will also meet with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, who will leave his post at the end of this month. These personnel alterations follow a crucial declaration from the White House. The White House claimed that the U.S. military would withdraw from Afghanistan step by step, and by the end of this year 10,000 soldiers would withdraw from Afganistan.

Concern that the military budget cut will “drain U.S. army”

The economic decline has exerted pressure on Obama’s government, which decided to cut the military budget. The budget cut is also one of the reasons for the U.S. army’s withdrawal. However, on the plane to Afghanistan, Panetta stated that the budget cuts would not harm the defense ability. He said he didn’t think he could choose only either the financial responsibility or the maintenance of national defense. He thought the government could save the money and maintain a powerful national defense at the same time.

The new secretary of defense agreed with the previous secretary, Robert Gates, that overdoing the budget cuts might “drain the U.S. army.” President Obama requires cutting $400 billion from defense expenditure. Previous Secretary of Defense Gates left this challenge to Panetta. The U.S. government is still facing deficit at this point. Currently the monthly military expenditure in Afghanistan is $10 billion.

American Enterprise Institute senior strategic analyst Gary Schmitt said, “Panetta’s biggest challenge will be to manage cutbacks in the Pentagon’s huge budget.” He also said, “If the administration has its way and there are hundreds of billions of dollars more in cuts, this is going to require significant downsizing of the U.S. military and force structure.”*

*Editor’s Note: These quotations, accurately translated, could not be verified.