How We Got to Zero: General Eikenberry's Hail Mary

[tekisui]

Source: The People's Voice



"WASHINGTON -- The United States ambassador to Afghanistan, who once served as the top American military commander there, has expressed in writing his reservations about deploying additional troops to the country, three senior American officials said Wednesday.

"The position of the ambassador, Karl W. Eikenberry, puts him in stark opposition to the current American and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who has asked for 40,000 more troops." New York Times, Nov. 11

This isn't just any envoy. General Karl Eikenberry has served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, the second as head of the Combined Forces Command. After the second Afghan tour, Eikenberry was Chairman of the NATO Joint Military Committee. He's a West Point graduate with advanced degrees from Harvard and Stanford and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

General McChrystal has asked for 50,000 troops in early October. By October 28, the president was said to favor a "McChrystal light" number as low as 15,000. On Nov. 7, just four days before Eikenberry's statement, McClatchy Newspapers put Obama's preferred number at 30,000. At this moment, the president is reported have rejected all of the troop increases on the table, according to Associated Press at 12:02 am EDT, today, November 12.

How did we get from McChrystal's request for 50,000 troop requests in early October to Eikenberry's "written reservations about deploying additional troops" just days before President Obama's planned decision?

The only thing we know for sure is that Eikenberry's statement was no accident. Clearly, there is dissent in the Pentagon and White House as evidenced by this publicly reported assessment by a serving ambassador and distinguished officer. Of interest, on troop levels, the Eikenberry statement agrees with the much criticized assessment of Vice President Joe Biden on made after a trip to Afghanistan

Two Paths - Obama's Hedge

When General Stanley McChrystal was appointed to command combined forces in Afghanistan, he put together his own team for the long haul:

"General McChrystal is assembling a corps of 400 officers and soldiers who will rotate between the United States and Afghanistan for a minimum of three years. That kind of commitment to one theater of combat is unknown in the military today outside Special Operations, but reflects an approach being imported by General McChrystal, who spent five years in charge of secret commando teams in Iraq and Afghanistan." New York Times, June 10

Little was know of the five year of secret commando work in the two nations until a Seymour Hersh gave a speech at the University of Minnesota on U.S. Intelligence policies. Hersh said:

"Right now, today, there was a story in the New York Times that if you read it carefully mentioned something known as the Joint Special Operations Command -- JSOC it’s called. It is a special wing of our special operations community that is set up independently. They do not report to anybody, except in the Bush-Cheney days, they reported directly to the Cheney office. … Congress has no oversight of it. It’s an executive assassination ring essentially, and it’s been going on and on and on." MinnesotaPost.Com March 11

more: http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/11/12/how-we-got-to-zero-eikenberry-s-hail-mar

[Bonobo]

1. Eikenberry is a hero.

He has earned a place in history IMO.

[tekisui]

2. I totally agree.

He put the breaks on. What happens from here may be another story, but I am impressed that he spoke the truth when he got the President's ear.

[malaise]

3. K & R

Time to clean up the military. Thank you General Eikenberry

[Botany]

4. He is smart too.

This isn't just any envoy. General Karl Eikenberry has served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, the second as head of the Combined Forces Command.
After the second Afghan tour, Eikenberry was Chairman of the NATO Joint Military Committee. He's a West Point graduate with advanced degrees
from Harvard and Stanford and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

[blm]

7. I've been concerned that hawks in key positions had the numbers in those meetings

I knew Biden (hawk now leaning dove) was outnumbered by Gates, Clinton, Holbrooke and McChrystal, all of who sided with escalation.

Biden, Emanuel, Kerry(SFRC) and Reed(Armed Services) still had Obama's ear and it looks like Eikenberry agreed with them enough to take the UNUSUAL step of bucking his direct superior - the Sec of State.

This has historic implications, imo.

[pokercat999]

5. OK Obama this is your ticket out! Have closed door discussions

with McCrystal and Eikenberry, wait one day and announce our withdrawal from Vietnamistan saying the mission was accomplished the Alquida training camps were destroyed and we have no desire to interfere with the internal politics of a sovereign nation. All BS but the press will like it and Americans will accept it with a sigh of relief. Crazy RW Fundies will condemn you no matter which way you go so that's not a problem. Next step, purge the military of all religious fundies REGARDLESS OF THEIR PARTICULAR RELIGION. And get started on the withdrawal from Iraq. This can all be accomplished within 90 to 120 days.

If you can't do it, hire me as a special whatever and give me the authority, it would be the most rewarding job I ever had.


NOTE: I have it on good authority; there is still no snow in hell and it hasn't frozen over.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. +1

:thumbsup:

[democrat_patriot]

6. I can hear the Right now: "Cut and Run"

They will decimate the elections with this slogan.

Commander-in-chief Obama has to stay.

He campaigned on increasing the fight in Afghanistan.

He has to increase troops, claim 'victory' and than withdraw troops. Turning everything over to Karzai.

He will of course leave troops near the Pakistan border.

[tekisui]

9. It should be framed as a success and measured withdrawal.

Focus on the fact that less than 200 al Qaeda are even in Afghanistan anymore. Karzai is corrupt, and we can't support that.