Obama the Afghan
Published in Le Monde
(France) on 29 March 2009
by Le Monde Editorial (link to original)
In order to turn away from the threat of failure in Afghanistan, is the most effective strategy to internationalize the search for a solution? This is what American President Barack Obama believes. On Friday, March 27, Obama suggested creating a contact group including Iran, India, Russia, China, Gulf countries and, of course, Pakistan. This is the opposite of his predecessor, who was hostile to trying anything to end Iran's diplomatic isolation from the U.S.
From this point of view, if Iran confirms its presence at the international conference on Afghanistan, held in The Hague on March 31, it will show that it takes into account the helping hand stretched out by Obama, while acquiring a form of international recognition.
The new strategy for Afghanistan does not break with the approach followed so far by the U.S. and the Atlantic Alliance. In addition to the unchanged objective - defeating Al Qaeda's terrorist threat - any approach to the conflict is inevitably based on a military option, development assistance and action to strengthen the foundations of the rule of law. The key is to find the right dosage.
Obama chooses to focus on two pillars at the same time: by sending 21,000 soldiers as reinforcements to try to overcome what he calls the Al Qaeda "cancer" and providing increased aid. Like his predecessor, he calls on American allies to take a greater share of the burden.
If there is change in the U.S. approach, it is a more realistic assessment of regional realities. The roots of the Afghan conflict are widely located in Pakistan, where Al Qaeda leaders and the Taliban movement have established sanctuaries. But the impunity they enjoy would not exist without the complicity of Islamabad intelligence. Is it a good solution to triple aid to Pakistan, as announced by Obama? Is this approach consistent with the increase of military strikes in Pakistan?
Obama recently acknowledged that the security situation was experiencing a drift in Afghanistan, while stressing the need to consider an exit strategy. "Obama the Afghan" is measuring in turn that the task of pacifying a country that has kept more than 100,000 Soviet soldiers at bay is not an easy job.
From this point of view, if Iran confirms its presence at the international conference on Afghanistan, held in The Hague on March 31, it will show that it takes into account the helping hand stretched out by Obama, while acquiring a form of international recognition.
The new strategy for Afghanistan does not break with the approach followed so far by the U.S. and the Atlantic Alliance. In addition to the unchanged objective - defeating Al Qaeda's terrorist threat - any approach to the conflict is inevitably based on a military option, development assistance and action to strengthen the foundations of the rule of law. The key is to find the right dosage.
Obama chooses to focus on two pillars at the same time: by sending 21,000 soldiers as reinforcements to try to overcome what he calls the Al Qaeda "cancer" and providing increased aid. Like his predecessor, he calls on American allies to take a greater share of the burden.
If there is change in the U.S. approach, it is a more realistic assessment of regional realities. The roots of the Afghan conflict are widely located in Pakistan, where Al Qaeda leaders and the Taliban movement have established sanctuaries. But the impunity they enjoy would not exist without the complicity of Islamabad intelligence. Is it a good solution to triple aid to Pakistan, as announced by Obama? Is this approach consistent with the increase of military strikes in Pakistan?
Obama recently acknowledged that the security situation was experiencing a drift in Afghanistan, while stressing the need to consider an exit strategy. "Obama the Afghan" is measuring in turn that the task of pacifying a country that has kept more than 100,000 Soviet soldiers at bay is not an easy job.