The Future of Iraq: A Conversation with General Raymond T. Odierno (video)
The Future of Iraq: A Conversation with General Raymond T. Odierno
February 16, 2010
Having spent the last three years in Iraq, General Raymond T. Odierno is uniquely aware of Iraq’s acute challenges and strategic opportunities. General Odierno has served as the Commander of U.S. Forces-Iraq since September 2008. He previously served as the Commanding General for the U.S. Army III Corps from May 2006 to September 2008, and therefore served as the Commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq during the Corps’ deployment from November 2006 to February 2008. General Odierno also commanded the 4th Infantry Division during its deployment to Iraq from April 2003 to March 2004. “He is noted for being one of few Army generals in history to command a division, corps and entire theater in the same conflict.”
On February 16th, the Institute for the Study of War hosted an event with General Odierno at the Army and Navy Club. General Odierno offered his insights into Iraq’s evolution since the Surge, the political challenges facing Iraq this year, the security challenges that the American drawdown will pose to Iraq, the policies of Iraq’s neighbors, and the potential for long-term success.
Obama’s Troop Surge Supports Earlier Goals- Washington Examiner
Obama’s Troop Surge Supports Earlier Stated Goals
President Obama recently announced his decision to increase the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan by at least 30,000 troops in pursuit of the same goals that he had originally articulated in March: “To disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent its capacity to threaten America and our allies in the future.”
He identified the objectives that the United States will need to achieve in support of this mission. “We must deny al Qaeda a safe haven. We must reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan’s security forces and government, so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan’s future.”
The president has repeatedly failed to explain adequately why reversing the Taliban’s momentum is a necessary prerequisite for the ultimate defeat of al Qaeda. Both in his West Point address and in Sunday’s “60 Minutes” interview he emphasized the relationship between the two groups resulting from their co-location along the Durand Line separating Afghanistan from Pakistan. But that geographical proximity is only part of the tie between the groups that requires the United States to act in Afghanistan while Pakistan operates along its side of the border against separate but related extremists.
There is, in fact, a clear and cogent answer to the question of why we must defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan in order to defeat al Qaeda. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made the case succinctly in his recent testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Defeating al Qaeda and enhancing Afghan security are mutually reinforcing missions. They cannot be untethered from one another, as much as we might wish that to be the case.” The Taliban and al Qaeda are linked, not only by the events leading up to 9/11 — mentioned by Obama in his speech — but by their vision of history, their ideology, and the human networks that sustain them.
He added, “While al Qaeda is under great pressure now and dependent on the Taliban and other extremist groups, for sustainment, the success of the Taliban would vastly strengthen al Qaeda’s message, to the Muslim world, that violent extremists are on the winning side of history. Put simply, the Taliban and al Qaeda have become symbiotic, each benefiting from the success and mythology of the other. Al Qaeda leaders have stated this explicitly and repeatedly.”
This argument is not simply a renewed version of some untested domino theory. Gates testified that “Taliban success in retaking and holding parts of Afghanistan, against the combined forces of multiple modern armies — the current direction of events — has dramatically strengthened the extremist mythology and popular perceptions of who is winning and who is losing.”
Lieutenant General Jim Dubik Visits NPR
‘An Army Takes Time To Build’- New York Times Op-Ed
An Army Takes Time to Build
ISW Managing Director James Danly, New York Times, December 8, 2009
I served as a platoon leader in the U.S. Army at the height of the surge in Dora, one of Baghdad’s most violent neighborhoods. While deployed there, I learned what is required to build a nation’s security forces. It is a lesson that appears to be largely overlooked in Washington in the ongoing debate over how to proceed in Afghanistan.
As I discovered firsthand, creating security forces is not simply a matter of recruiting troops, giving them training and equipment and then sending them out to do battle against a hardened enemy. The real process of forging foreign military forces only begins when they are partnered with American combat units. This partnership takes time and requires the commitment of large numbers of American and other coalition troops. As we found out in Iraq, avoiding such a full-fledged partnership merely guarantees failure.
Before the surge, we attempted a premature transition, quickly handing over responsibility to newly created Iraqi military units. Following minimal training, these units were sent to the front lines with small U.S. training teams of a dozen or so men. Few were partnered with American combat units.
Lacking in confidence, this resulted in fractured Iraqi forces and widespread sectarian violence. The American advisers played critical roles, but by themselves they could not train and prepare new units for independent operations.
This simple lesson was learned at great cost. So it is disturbing that so many politicians and pundits overlook such recent history. Those who propose the accelerated training of Afghan military and police units as an alternative to increasing American troop commitments are offering a false choice.
Read more…
ISW on Television
Recently, several ISW staffers have appeared on major cable news outlets.
ISW President Kimberly Kagan visited with FOX’s Happening Now to discuss strategy for Afghanistan.
Dr. Kimberly Kagan on FOX’s Happening Now
Research Analyst Jeffrey Dressler also visited CNN’s Situation Room to explain ISAF caveats with CNN Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence.
NEW ISW Report- The Taliban’s Campaign for Kandahar
ISW President Kim Kagan talks Afghanistan with Katie Couric
This week, Katie Couric examines the road ahead in Afghanistan, and the crucial decision President Obama is facing, with journalist George Packer and military historian Kimberly Kagan.
