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Kinzer: Surge Diplomacy, Not Troops, in Afghanistan
USA Today reports that Gen. McKiernan - top U.S. commander in Afghanistan - "has asked the Pentagon for more than 20,000 soldiers, Marines and airmen" to augment U.S. forces. McKiernan says U.S. troop levels of 55,000 to 60,000 in Afghanistan will be needed for "at least three or four more years." He added: "If we put these additional forces in here, it's going to be for the next few years. It's not a temporary increase of combat strength."
We should have a vigorous national debate before embarking on this course. Contrary to what one might think from a quick scan of the newspapers, there are knowledgeable voices questioning whether increasing the deployment of U.S. troops to Afghanistan is in our interest, or is in the interest of the Afghan people.
Bestselling author and former longtime New York Times foreign correspondent Stephen Kinzer argues the opposite in this five minute video:
Kinzer argues that sending more U.S. troops is likely to be counterproductive. It's likely to produce more anger in Afghanistan, and more anger is likely to produce more recruits for the Taliban. A better alternative would surge diplomacy instead, reaching out to people who are now supporting the Taliban.
Al Qaeda and the Taliban are very different forces, argues Kinzer. The Taliban has deep roots in Afghan society. Many of the warlords allied with the Taliban are not fanatic ideologues.
Afghanistan is a place of fluid loyalties, Kinzer notes. A warlord allied with the Taliban may not be anti-American, or if he is today, he need not be tomorrow. We should take advantage of these fluid loyalties, and try to follow the diplomatic solution that Afghans and Afghan leaders are advocating.
Almost all the money in Afghanistan fueling the insurgency comes from the Afghan poppy crop, the source of most of the world's heroin, Kinzer notes. We're trying to crush that poppy-growing culture in an impossible way, Kinzer says. Burning and spraying poppy fields will never achieve that goal. All that does is impoverish Afghans and make them more angry at us.
The entire Afghan poppy crop is worth four billion dollars a year. We're now spending $4 billion a month on our war in Afghanistan. Let's take one of those months, and buy the entire poppy crop, suggests Kinzer. That way we're not impoverishing Afghans, we're putting money in their pockets instead of shooting them and burning down their houses. We'd use some of that to make morphine for medical use and we could burn the rest.
If we continue to act as if there's a military solution in Afghanistan, we're just going to get further dragged down into quagmire. There is a way out, Kinzer says. We can follow a much more sophisticated diplomatic and political strategy in a way that will reduce the ability of the Taliban to attract young recruits. What we're doing now is the opposite, fueling the insurgency. Sending fewer troops to Afghanistan, not more, is needed to stabilize Afghanistan.
If you agree with Stephen Kinzer, why not send a note to that effect to President-elect Obama?
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Foreign Policy Action Plan - post Election
Submitted by arn specter on Sat, 2008-11-08 02:34. Ending Occupation Discussion
Subject: Action Plan - Post U.S. Elections
November 6, 2008
Arn H. Specter
Arn's News, Phila. Pa. USA, arnpeace@yahoo.com
By educating ourselves much more and focusing on Diplomacy to stop the war(s) and aid regional development we can help infuence improvements in American Foreign Poicy. Let us lobby the new
administration, Congress and others on Diplomacy and various peacemaking actions to lead us foward in progressive ways and restore a positive American image.
Currently there is war in Iraq Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan forces from the United States,
NATO and the Afghan Government are fighting the Taliban forces and, possibly some al-Qaeda forces as
well. The Taliban obtained power in 1996 , fought against U.S. forces after September 11, 2001,
and the Karzai government was formed in 2004. The Taliban have allied with al-Qaeda, gaining in
"military" strength and finances thanks to opium production and trade. and other support.
Now, fighting occurs along the Afghan/Pakistan border and into Pakistan, where the U.S. is not welcomed
by the Pakistan government. The U.S. has fired missles into Pakistan at al-Qaeda and Taliban targets. Recently NATO has called for more troops in Afghanistan with U.S. cooperation, ordering an increase in
troops soon. Meetings with new Central Command leader, Gen. Petraeus and Pakistan and Afghan government leaders have taken place the last week. Current plans indicate an increase in military strength
and an effort to reach out to the moderate Taliban's with diplomacy in order to sway them from fighting. and possibly join the Afghan government. Also an effort may be made to reach the young Afghan men and try to dissuade them from joining the Taliban.
In the U.S. and in Europe and Asia many people, the anti-war movements - have spoken out against
the war(s) wanting the war to stop and the troops to return home. Too, there is much concern about the billions of dollars spent in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now Pakistan, draining monies from home. In Iraq now
there an attempt to make a security agreement with the U.S. is in process. though it's fret with difficulties.
The U.S. troops have a UN mandate to be there until the end of this year. Recently the U.S. attacked Syria, over the Iraq border, in order to try to stop insurgents from entering Iraq and joining the fighting.as has been
the case for years.
Now, too, a new President has been elected, Barack Obama, a Democrat, who will assume office in
January 2009. Obama has spoken of a withdrawal of troops within 16 months or so and the need for
diplomacy in the region. Many others too have spoken out for the needs of more diplomacy instead of war.
The situation is complex in the entire region - from Israel to Pakistan - needing more informed
and diplomacy minded and educated governments, military, and those in the anti-war movements,
NATO , the United Nations and the European Community.
In the long run more diplomacy with mediation, arbitration, negotiations, compromises,reconciliation
and even conflict resolution fostered by both the public and private sectors would help bring forth agreements that foster peace and security in the region. More fighting is doomed to failure as stated by Generals from the U.S. and NATO commands, and
others who understand the limitations of protracted warfare, especially now in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
More diplomacy, less war needs to be put on the table now.
For more diplomacy to become policy all of the above groups could add their imput and resources
to the efforts. Some of the resources below help us to understand the situation. Many aricles recently
in newspapers discuss developments in the region. We need to keep up by reading, even forming new
groups that focus on supporting diplomacy as well as connecting with those groups (NGOs), i.e. the Carter Center, AFSC (American Friends Service Committee) and Amnesty International, that
have worked with diplomacy for years in many countries in the world. Their methods and experience
are invaluable and can offer ways and means to go about more diplomatic solutions.
The State Department might well avail themselves of the experience of these groups as well, and even
expand their efforts now and in the future with the new administration.
In early 2007 their was a movement to establish a Department of Peace in a cabinet level position but it failed. The ideas there are very sound and could be brought up again, especially if a foreign division is
added to a domestic one. Rep. Dennis Kucinich along with many groups and individuals led the way in that good effort (see Deptartment of Peace - SEARCH, with Yahoo or Google) Let's at least use the information and ideas gathered in that fine effort.
So, it would seem to me, that the focus to help end these wars and foster peace and development is
Diplomacy as policy and a state of mind for our efforts in the Asian and Middle East regions, as well as
other parts of the world. Actually this is already happening. From Europe to the Mediterranean to Iraq to Pakistan there are meetings and discussions about making progress by diplomacy and cooperation, which have already led to treaties and agreements being signed and implemented. These efforts need to become known and supported, listened to especially by U.S. policymakers. The U.S. needs to join the movement
for Diplomacy First in the effort to advance a progressive agenda worldwide.
On October 24, 2008 in the Christian Science Monitor, Sen. Russ Feingold wrote an article entitled,
More U.S. Troops to Afghanistan? and stated , Washington policymakers and others are increasingly recognizing that we need to return our attention to Afghanistan and the threat of Al Qaeda. While the administration has pursued a misguided war in Iraq, the Taliban has regrouped in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda has established a stronghold across the border in Pakistan, and Al Qaeda affiliates have gained strength around
the world."
"We must also work with other key nations, such as Saudi Arabia and China. In late 2001, the Bush administration was able to bring all the regional players together to develop an internationally recognized, post-Taliban framework for Afghanistan. We should consider a similar high-level diplomatic initiative. The way forward requires a renewed strategy that has the support of Afghanistan's neighbors and stakeholders."
"Regardless of whether we send more troops, we need to understand that, as in Iraq, there is ultimately no military solution to Afghanistan's problems."
"In the long run, regional diplomacy, government reforms, and infrastructure development may be more important to Afghanistan's success – and to our own national security – than committing additional troops."
• Russ Feingold is a Democratic senator from Wisconsin and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs.
It is this kind of approach, Sen. Feingold's call for more diplomacy and not bringing in more troops that
needs to be heard far and wide, in our local meetings on up to the halls of Congress...and into the
White House and the Oval office.
Arn Specter, Phila. (215) 843-1850, arnpeace@yahoo.com
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Robert Naiman and Stephen Kinzer's call for diplomacy
complements the position now of the Obama Transition Team,
as well as Generals from NATO and the U.S. and many others over the last few months. Included is Senator Russ Feingold
who wrote an aticle published in the Christian Science Monitor in which he advocates diplomacy rather than more troops in Afghan. Obama has indicated he wants to expand the State Department with more diplomats. I feel that we also need to draw upon our peacekeeping and activist groups who have been using diplomacy, negotiations, mediation,
and conflict resolution as tools for peaceful settlement of disputes for years. Their experience is invaluable. These include the Carter Center World Watch, Amnesty International and the American Friends Service Committee.
Let's encourage Obama to utilize these skills in gov plans.
arn specter, arnpeace@yahoo.com