Breaking News: U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase

[gateley]

Source: Washington Post

Strongly worded cables urge a pause until Kabul government shifts course

By Greg Jaffe, Scott Wilson and Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, November 11, 2009; 6:11 PM

The U.S. ambassador in Kabul sent two classified cables to Washington in the last week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the Taliban's rise, said senior U.S. officials.

Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry's memos were sent in the days leading up to a critical meeting Wednesday between President Obama and his national security team to consider several options prepared by military planners for how to proceed in Afghanistan. The proposals, which mark the last stage of a months-long strategy review, all call for between 20,000 to 40,000 more troops and a far broader American involvement of the war.

The last-minute dissent by Eikenberry, who commanded U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, has rankled his former colleagues in the Pentagon -- as well as Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, said defense officials. McChrystal has bluntly stated that without an increase of tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan in the next year, the mission there "will likely result in failure."

Eikenberry retired from the military in April 2009 as a senior general in NATO and was sworn in as ambassador the next day. His position as a former commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is likely to give added weight to his concerns. It will also likely fan growing doubts about U.S. prospects for Afghanistan among an increasingly pessimistic public.

more >>>>>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111118432.html?wpisrc=newsletter

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111118432.html?wpisrc=newsletter

[David Zephyr]

1. His lips to Obama's ears.

Get out of Afghanistan.

[polichick]

2. Good thinking...

This article suggests that's been part of the hold up:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/world/asia/11policy.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss

[blm]

7. And he's against his other boss, the SoS. This is a HIGHLY unusual turn of events.

The divide on this is truly historic. Same set of hawks siding with McChrystal in the big three - Gates, Clinton, Holbrooke, but, hawks with dovish positions may be forcing further contemplation - Biden, Emanuel and Eikenberry.

[timeforpeace]

3. What the hell is a cable anyway? Why not an email, or a letter, or a phone call, or a telegram even?

[boppers]

14. Telegram=Cable

Internet access is dismal, as is phone access, power access, etc. I believe telegrams also have the benefit of being diplomatically protected traffic (legally, if not practically)...

[karynnj]

18. A diplomatic cable may be far more secure than email or telegram (which might not even exist )

As to a phone call, he would need to get on the President's schedule. A written document will be well thought out and worded and can be passed to others. I'm sure if the President wanted he could follow up with a phone call.

[24601]

36. It's an electrical message on a secure system used throughout

the US Government. While specialized networks remain for specific information requiring exceptional handling & dissemination only within very specific channels, 90% plus runs over over two backbone systems (with common swithcing centers) - GENSER (General Services) which cannot carry compartmented traffic and DSSCS (Defense Special Security Communications System) which is accredited for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).

The Secretary of Defense's operational orders to Combatant Commanders will normally be transmitted as electrical messages by The Joint Staff. Ditto for communications between the Secretary of State and the US Ambassadors, all of who work for the SoS except for the US Ambassador to the US, who is a direct report to the President (and is a Cabinet Officer).

[pleah]

4. Obama are you listening? n/t

[msongs]

5. President MacArthur McChrystal isn't gonna like this one bit nt

[laststeamtrain]

6. Look before you leap.

The military is a welfare queen. Fuck 'em.

Do something else.

[bluestateguy]

8. He sent cables?

What is this, 1956?

[boppers]

12. Oh, he totally should have used his broadband internet webcam.

....In Afghanistan?

They still play polo with dead goats there. So, yes, it's still 1956. In some areas, it's still 1856.

:evilgrin:

[DJ13]

9. I predict more troops and a new Ambassador at the same time

The MIC wants more bodies, the President will have little choice.

[Downwinder]

10. Get the furiners out. Do we need lessons on popular attitudes on

furniers and their unintelligible languages?

[bertman]

11. Holy Shit!! The Ambassador has nads of titanium. Bless him for his courage and his

stand against this waste of life and resources.

OUT NOW!! Too many Americans and Afghans are dying and suffering for the War Profiteers.

Rec.

[timeforpeace]

13. "...concerns about sending more troops...UNTIL..." This isn't what we think it is.

[gateley]

16. That'll never happen -- the "until". Karzai's government IS the corruption, plus

he's been dissing the US the past few days, so I honestly don't think he'll do an about face. And that they even toy with the idea that it's a possibility is ludicrous. IMO, natch. :7

[PuraVidaDreamin]

15. Thank You Mr. Ambassador!

Real courage demonstrated here. Thank You.

[karynnj]

17. As a a former general and the current ambassador, he really has more

knowledge on the pieces of the puzzle than anyone else. Who else has on the ground knowledge of the the diplomatic and military situation? It seemed in the crisis with Karzai refusing to abide by Afghan law and have a run off, he was the one handling the relationship more than anyone else in the state department. Though that makes sense as he is the ambassador, it is clear that he had a stronger relationship than Holbrooke did.

If interested, here is a link to his hearing - http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2009/hrg090326a.html
Here is his bio - http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/123456.htm

Here is his statement from his hearing that speaks both of his background and his goals in Afghanistan from March of this year. http://foreign.senate.gov/testimony/2009/EikenberryTestimony090326a.pdf

[Knight Hawk]

19. Yes

We are being bribed to death by the Afghans,Pakis,Egyptians ,Iraqis and Israelis.Leave the entire area ASAP. Bring out troops and our treasure home.

[lonestarnot]

20. Hachachacha!

:bounce: :woohoo:

[gateley]

21. ....

I haven't "heard" that in years! Put a BIG smile on my face! :hi:

[lonestarnot]

23. !

Glad to oblige.

[Jefferson23]

22. I am encouraged, Obama wants more time, sounds good to me.

The neocons heads must be imploding.

[cal04]

24. Envoy urges no US troop increase, Military commander 'fuming'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8356094.stm

The US ambassador in Kabul has written to the White House arguing against sending thousands more American troops to Afghanistan.

In a leaked cable, Karl Eikenberry expressed doubts about the competence of President Hamid Karzai's government.

The message arrived amid intense debate over strategy, with President Obama yet to make a decision on troop numbers.

This dramatic intervention seems to put the envoy at odds with generals wanting reinforcements, correspondents say.

(snip)
Gen McChrystal was "fuming" about Mr Eikenberry's intervention, sources said.

[24601]

25. Fine - let the State Department personnel handle the dangerous

assignments and the Troops can drink beer back in the secured areas. And in the highly unlikely event that the Taliban attack, the diplomats can flash their black passports*, explain that they enjoy diplomatic immunity, and insist the Taliban cease and desist.

Let me know how that works out.

*Tourist passports have blue covers, Official passports are red and Diplomatic are Black.

[blackspade]

26. You do realize that

You do realize that if we by some miracle pull our troops out, it will be the diplomats that are the ones in the firing line.
These are folks that have to deal with some truly dangerous and shitty people day in and day out in an attempt to keep these shitty people from killing a ton of innocent people.

[24601]

37. Absolutely I realize it. I'm just suggesting they try it out for a while

during evaluation of Ambassador Eikenberry's idea as a pilot program. That way, if the troops are needed after a few months, they don't have to be redeployed from CONUS. And they'll be rested & ready after some time out of contact back in diplomatically secured areas - hopefully with cable TV and some cold beer.

And it might also be helpful for Amb Eikenberry to recall that he reports to SoS Clinton, not as a direct report to the President. And if DU posters are going to blast the "leaking" of GEN McChrystal's recommendations, then the same holds true for the "leaking" of Amb Eikenberry's recommendations. Let the SECDEF and SECSTATE make their recommendations to the President since the departments have to consider more than just these two areas.

[elleng]

27. AP Source: US Envoy Objects to Troop Increase.

Source: ap/nyt

The U.S. envoy in Afghanistan, a former Army general who once commanded troops in the country, has objected strongly to emerging plans to send tens of thousands of additional forces to the country, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.

Ambassador Karl Eikenberry resigned his Army commission to take the job as U.S. ambassador in Kabul earlier this year, and his is an influential voice among those advising President Barack Obama on Afghanistan. Eikenberry sent multiple classified cables to Washington over the past week that question the wisdom of adding forces when the Afghan political situation is unstable and uncertain, said an official familiar with the cables. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations and the classified documents.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/12/us/politics/AP-US-US-Afghanistan-Ambassador.html

[rollingrock]

28. Will Obama listen to people who know what they're talking about?

or will he elect to go with the inept advice of his hawkish Bush generals?

[StarryNite]

29. His choice will be very telling. nt

[elleng]

30. VP BIDEN sitting at Prez O's right in photo:

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/President-Barack-Obama-Situation-Room/photo//091111/480/59c9c57cbd4342c98a0d735db2c0a336//s:/ap/us_us_afghanistan

I think this is a major part of the answer to your question.

[elleng]

31. Hey gate, didja notice who's sitting beside the President?

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/President-Barack-Obama-Situation-Room/photo//091111/480/59c9c57cbd4342c98a0d735db2c0a336//s:/ap/us_us_afghanistan

[watrwefitinfor]

32. So, who leaked it?

Who stood to gain? And how?

Is it a trial balloon? Is the leak connected to the trip to China? Will Eikenberry be in China with the Prez (speaking Chinese might be a big plus)?

Seems he might have been put in this position as envoy for exactly the right reasons, because Obama trusts him to give good advice in a crunch!

Wat

[clear eye]

33. US envoy warns against troop surge in Afghanistan

Source: The Guardian

Memos from Eikenberry state extra troops 'not a good idea' until Karzai government tackles corruption, according to reports
James Meikle, Ewen MacAskill in Washington guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 November 2009 07.56 GMT

The US ambassador in Kabul has warned against plans to send tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan, until President Hamid Karzai's government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption.

Karl Eikenberry sent two classified cables to Washington in the past week expressing his concern over proposals to deploy as many as 40,000 extra troops while the Karzai government remains dogged by accusations of incompetence and corruption, according to reports from Washington.

The existence of the memos was revealed as Barack Obama held a war council at the White House to discuss the final four options for deployment of extra US troops in an effort to stave off defeat at the hands of the Taliban.

Eikenberry is a former US commander in Afghanistan and his caution over a further troop build-up puts him at odd with senior generals in the Pentagon.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/12/us-envoy-objects-afghan-surge

[barbtries]

34. i hope Obama listens to Eikenberry

the pentagon appears to be chock full of warmongers who want nothing more than to feed a steady supply of young americans to their own fucking bloodlust and greed.

[24601]

38. I hope he receives the same admonition as McChrystal

regarding recommendations being "leaked".

[pjt7]

35. This should be DU's main

story, put at the top.

Canada just announced it will start pulling all of their troops out of Afghan.

[clear eye]

39. If that isn't already in LBN, you should post the story. n/t

[David Zephyr]

40. Kick.

This should have more play.