Kerry op-ed in the Boston Globe on Afghanistan

[karynnj]

IN TWO months, the Obama administration will announce critical choices about the next phase of its Afghanistan strategy: how to begin drawing down US forces so Afghans can assume greater responsibility for their own country. We know the transition will take time, and many believe it won’t be finished by 2014, the date President Hamid Karzai says he wants full control of his country.

Deciding the steps ahead ultimately is a decision only President Obama can make. But making the right recommendations — informed by a thorough debate — is our collective responsibility, and particularly the responsibility of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Forty years ago last month, I testified in front of the committee about a war that had to end. Today I chair that committee, and this week I’m launching another series of comprehensive hearings to examine a war the president has already decided will end. The goal is to study every question and ultimately articulate a policy of how that war should end in a way that makes America stronger.

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The hearings will challenge any lingering assumption that the conflict will have a quick and decisive end. The truth is that there is no purely military victory possible in Afghanistan, despite the skill and sacrifice of our troops. What we face is a political resolution that could deteriorate into civil war unless we accept some basic truths and adjust our tactics accordingly.

http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-01/bostonglobe/29493737_1_afghan-police-afghanistan-strategy-president-hamid-karzai

These hearings, the first one tomorrow at 10 am, will be fascinating. The last paragraph I quoted is the last paragraph in the op-ed. That and the reference to his own history and his description of Obama's position suggest to me that the hearings will support the drawn down. I wonder what the shift from Gates to Panetta might mean - if anything - to the likelihood of real draw down in the number of troops.

[Mass]

1. The Globe reports on the hearing.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2011/05/kerry_holding_h.html

Kerry holding hearing on Pakistan, Afghanistan
E-mail | Print | Comments (0) Posted by Glen Johnson May 2, 2011 12:26 PM
By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON — Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is seeking to refocus the nation's focus on Pakistan and Afghanistan in the run-up to a scheduled withdrawal of some US forces from Afghanistan, set to begin in July.

On Tuesday morning, Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Princeton University Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter, Ronald E. Neumann, president of the American Academy of Diplomacy will appear before the committee.

It has already conducted 14 oversight hearings on the war, including the first congressional hearings on reconciliation and the mission in Marja.

The latest hearing was planned before Sunday's surprise announcement about the killing Osama bin Laden.

“The killing of Osama bin Laden closes an important chapter in our war against extremists who kill innocent people around the world." Kerry said in a statement. "A single death does not end the threat from al Qaeda and its affiliated groups and highlights the need to thoroughly evaluate our strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We need to make certain we are asking tough questions about the direction and effectiveness of our policy/"

Farah Stockman can be reached [e-mail]. Follow her on Twitter @fstockman.