Should the U.S. Withdraw from Afghanistan Sooner? >
U.S. Should Preserve Gains and Prevent Further Bloodshed
The drawdown of U.S. troops should not be our only goal in Afghanistan
March 16, 2012
About Caroline Wadhams:
Caroline Wadhams is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. She focuses on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and U.S. national security. Prior to American Progress, she served as a legislative assistant on foreign policy issues for Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold. Wadhams also worked at the Council on Foreign Relations and spent several years living and working in Sierra Leone, Ecuador, and Chile. She served as a U.S. election observer in Afghanistan's parliamentary elections in September 2010 and in Pakistan's parliamentary elections in February 2008.
Over the next year, the United States should continue to reduce its troop presence in Afghanistan and realign its military and financial investments to more sustainable levels. Current American security interests in Afghanistan are real but indirect, and can be served best through a more limited presence of military advisers and covert special operators.
An exclusive focus on troop numbers, however, misses the larger dimensions of the conflict in Afghanistan and ignores the role the United States can play in finding a peaceful solution.
A central objective of American strategy in Afghanistan should be to ensure, to the extent possible, a peaceful and sustainable transition to Afghan lead. This will require a doubling down on the political and diplomatic components of U.S. strategy and improved synchronization between these components and the reduced military footprint.
[See pictures of Afghans mourning the recent rogue attack.]
The status quo in Afghanistan—characterized by a narrowly representative and unpopular Afghan government, weak Afghan National Security Forces, and a resilient insurgency—is very fragile and dependent on foreign troops, money, and support for its survival. Addressing this dependency ultimately requires political, not military processes. As we reduce our investments, we must attempt to assist Afghans in creating a more sustainable settlement that does not require such a massive degree of external support to keep it so precariously balanced.
The Obama administration has begun moving in this direction through outreach to the Taliban, but its strategic emphasis continues to be on military tactics—taking the fight to the insurgents and standing up Afghan National Security Forces and local militias.
A bolstered diplomatic and political strategy requires supporting intra-Afghan negotiations that include Afghanistan's diverse stakeholders, including but not limited to President Karzai and Afghan insurgents; assisting Afghans prepare for and conduct their presidential election in 2014, when President Karzai is required by the constitution to hand power to another elected Afghan leader; and pursuing a regional framework that reinforces an Afghan political settlement.
[U.S., Afghan Lawmakers Clash Over Alleged Gunman's Trial.]
The drawdown of U.S. troops should not be our only goal in Afghanistan. The United States and its allies should also attempt to leave behind a stable outcome, preserving the gains, preventing further bloodshed in Afghanistan and potential regional instability, and honoring American and Afghan sacrifices that have already been made.
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- Other Arguments
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#17641
No — Obama's politically motivated deadlines for troop drawdown have undermined the effectiveness of the surge
AHMAD MAJIDYAR, Senior Research Associate at the American Enterprise Institute
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#33533
No — Cut-and-run exit strategy would embolden Taliban and increase dangers for U.S. and Afghans
LISA CURTIS, Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation
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#44040
Yes — Neither staying the course nor doubling down on our investment offers a realistic path to success
JEFF SMITH, Kraemer Strategy Fellow and Director of the South Asia Program at the American Foreign Policy Council
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#56771
Yes — The U.S. should accelerate its withdrawal because only the Afghans can make their future
DOUG BANDOW, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute
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#62050
No — Departure from Afghanistan ought to be orderly and clearly defined
SHUJA NAWAZ, Director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council
