Afghanistan -- Losing On The Forgotten Front

June 27, 2008

by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Ali Frick, and Benjamin Armbruster

AFGHANISTAN

Losing On The Forgotten Front

In November 2007, Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb and Senior Policy Analyst Caroline Wadhams issued a report on the war in Afghanistan called The Forgotten Front, arguing that "the situation has dramatically deteriorated since 2005." "Afghanistan faces a growing insurgency that directly threatens its stability and the national security interests of the United States and its allies," wrote Korb and Wadhams. Now, roughly eight months later, the circumstances on the ground in Afghanistan have become even more perilous. In May, American and allied combat deaths in Afghanistan "passed the monthly toll in Iraq for the first time." Not yet over, the month of June has been even deadlier with 39 coalition deaths, which is "the highest monthly toll of the war." In fact, in the first six months of 2007, 28 Americans were killed in combat in Afghanistan, but in 2008, that number has already reached 50. On Monday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen told members of his staff that "violence is up this year by every single measure we look at." According to the Los Angeles Times, the measurable increase in violence has "prompted the military's top leadership to order a review of its strategy in Afghanistan." Commanders believe they need three brigades, or 10,000 troops, to address the situation in Afghanistan, but with the heavy U.S. commitment in Iraq, those numbers are difficult to muster.

IRAQ DRAINING RESOURCES: On Monday, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams reported that on a recent trip to Afghanistan, "several U.S. commanders complained" to the network that they lack "resources, aircraft, soldiers and support because of the war in Iraq." The complaints of the commanders who spoke to Williams were echoed that same day by Mullen, who told reporters that Afghanistan is "an economy-of-force campaign," which, "by definition," means that "we don't have enough forces there." "I am constrained on forces I can generate quite frankly because of Iraq," said Mullen. Many military officials want to take "advantage of future troop reductions in Iraq by giving U.S. units more time at home to rest and train," but the requirements of the situation in Afghanistan mean that "future troop reductions in Iraq instead will lead to an increase in U.S. units in Afghanistan." With uncertainty about when troop reductions in Iraq will occur, military officials "have begun looking to bases in the U.S. for about 1,000 new troops that csan be sent to Afghanistan in October." At the same time, this strain on the military's resources means that the unpopular "stop-loss" policy won't end anytime soon. In a meeting with soldiers earlier this month, Mullen said that the policy would continue for "the near future" and could "see a slight growth in the next couple of years."

RESURGENT EXTREMISM: "Across a wide swathe of southern and south-eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban have never looked stronger since they were driven from power by an American-backed alliance in November 2001," the Economist wrote in a recent issue. A searing example of the Taliban's renewed strength was the massive jailbreak at Sarposa Prison in the southern city of Kandahar earlier this month, when Taliban fighters used suicide car bombs and a concerted rocket-and-machine gun assault to free as many as 1,200 prisoners, including somewhere between 350 and 400 Taliban fighters. The Taliban's tactics have also become more sophisticated. "The Taliban, by and large, have moved -- not unlike what happened in Iraq -- to the asymmetric, IED-style warfare," said Mullen last week. But it isn't only the Taliban that are stressing coalition efforts in the country. New Pentagon data shows that insurgent activity is increasing and spreading into "once stable areas." Attacks are up almost 40 percent in Afghanistan's eastern province, where "a patchwork of Sunni Muslim groups" are clashing with coalition forces, not just the Taliban. Yesterday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the increased insurgent activity in the Eastern province "a real concern." Gates pointed to the porous border with Pakistan as one of the main roots of the resurgence.

EARLY WARNING SIGNS: Similar to Korb and Wadhams, military officials and foreign policy analysts have been sounding alarm bells over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan for some time now. At the beginning of 2008, two reports were released by prestigious committees that declared that Afghanistan is "at great risk of becoming 'the forgotten war'" and "could become a failed state." "Make no mistake, NATO is not winning in Afghanistan," said the report by the Atlantic Council, which was chaired by retired Gen. Jim Jones. In January 2008, then-CentCom Commander Adm. William Fallon explained the increased tempo of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan by saying "we moved focus to Iraq," and "there was a resurgence of the Taliban." In April, Mullen told the Senate Armed Forces Committee that "with the bulk of our ground forces deployed to Iraq...we cannot now meet extra force requirements in places like Afghanistan."

ENERGY -- U.S. GOVERNMENT FREEZES SOLAR ENERGY PROJECTS: Today, the price of a barrel of oil rose past $140 a barrel for the first time. Yet the U.S. government has quietly shut down all new solar energy projects on public land, citing the need for research on their environmental impact. The research could delay new projects by two years. The decision to freeze new proposals "has caused widespread concern in the alternative-energy industry, as fledgling solar companies must wait to see if they can realize their hopes of harnessing power from swaths of sun-baked public land, just as the demand for viable alternative energy is accelerating." According to a new analysis by McKinsey, solar electricity will soon sell for roughly the same price as fossil electricity. In fact, California, Texas, and New York are expected to reach grid parity by 2020. The government's freeze is expected to halt "projects that have the potential to power more than 20 million homes."

ADMINISTRATION -- CHENEY AIDE STONEWALLS COMMITTEE, REFUSES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON TORTURE: Yesterday, David Addington, chief of staff to Vice President Cheney and "the man most responsible for building President Bush's notion of an imperial presidency," testified before Congress regarding his role in crafting the administration's torture policies. Addington, who was subpoenaed, "provided little specific information on his role in pressing for controversial interrogation tactics." He evaded questions on the legality of torture, responding, "I'm not going to answer a legal opinion on every imaginable set of facts any human being could think of." When asked about specific interrogation techniques, Addington responded, "I can't talk to you, al Qaeda may watch C-SPAN." When Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) questioned his inability to remember conversations about interrogation techniques, he interrupted: "Is there a question pending, ma'am?" Asked if it would be legal to torture a detainee's child, he replied, "I'm not here to render legal advice to your committee. You do have attorneys of your own." Later, Addington was asked whether he would meet privately to discuss classified matters. "You have my number," he said. "If you issue a subpoena, we'll go through this again." Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) characterized Addington's attitude as "smug."

GLOBAL WARMING -- COURT REFUSES TO SET DEADLINE ON EPA ENDANGERMENT RULING: Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously denied a petition to order the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make a finding "whether greenhouse gases and global warming threaten public health and welfare." The petition had been filed by officials of 18 states exactly a year after the Supreme Court issued its decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, ordering the EPA to issue an endangerment finding and issue emissions regulations. The New York Times revealed that the Bush administration has resorted to extraordinarily absurd methods to stonewall the process, including an incident last December. For example, White House officials refused to open the e-mail from the EPA that concluded "climate change endangers the public" and recommended regulating greenhouse emissions. Yesterday's ruling underscores that "the Bush administration has not done anything, will not do anything, and has stood in the way of anyone else doing anything," said David Bookbinder, chief climate counsel for the Sierra Club. Meanwhile, as the EU reached a landmark deal to cap airline emissions and reduce the threat of climate change, the EPA is preparing to issue a report that "will seek comments only on 'whether' it poses such a danger."

Polar scientists say that "for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year." The scientists "believe the chances of a totally ice-free North Pole this summer are greater than 50:50 because the normally thick ice formed over many years at the Pole has been blown away and replaced by huge swathes of thinner ice formed over a single year."

Conservative senators blocked a Medicare bill yesterday, meaning that doctors will "face a 10 percent cut in Medicare payments next week." The bill averting the cuts overwhelmingly passed the House Tuesday, in a 355-59 vote.

The Senate yesterday approved at $162 billion war spending plan, which includes "a doubling of GI Bill college benefits for troops and veterans" and "a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits and $2.7 billion in emergency flood relief for the Midwest." The bill now heads to President Bush for his signature.

Oil prices reached a record high of $140 yesterday, which, combined with "mounting anxiety over the health of such disparate industries as banking, auto manufacturing and technology," sent the Dow Jones industrial average "tumbling by 3 percent to its lowest level in almost two years."

Yesterday the Supreme Court struck down the so-called Millionaires Amendment, which imposed special rules for wealthy political candidate financing their own campaigns. The 5-4 decision said the law forced wealthy candidates to "choose between the First Amendment right to engage in unfettered political speech and subjection to discriminatory fund-raising limitations."

And finally: Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV) was in high spirits yesterday. He was "wheeled into the hearing room just before the start of a committee markup" and bellowed, "Hello, folks!" to the packed room. People then cheered when he yelled, "Applause, applause, applause!" Seeing Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) walk in, he welcomed her with, "Hello there, darling Dianne" and began singing, "Diaaaanne, oooh Dianne!" He also pointed out the "growth" on Sen. Pete Domenici's (R-NM) face.

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee has approved a measure improving health care for female veterans, which includes "programs to improve care for victims of military sexual trauma" and expanding staff and training for those who serve women at the VA.

DELAWARE: Offshore wind power deal would light 50,000 homes in Delaware for the next 25 years.

EDUCATION: "For the first time a study offers across-the-board evidence that preschool open to all children benefits both low-income and middle-class students."

HEALTH CARE: "Efforts to reduce teen smoking have stalled in the past five years as states lose funding for anti-tobacco efforts."

THINK PROGRESS: Former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo refuses to answer whether the President can bury detainees alive.

WONK ROOM: Consumer confidence report: "Americans feel downright terrible about the economy."

GRISTMILL: UK economist Nicholas Stern explains to the House how the costs of inaction on climate change may be increasing.

DAILY DISH: Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) is the only obstacle to removing the HIV travel and immigration ban.

"Sir, perhaps the best that can be said is that the vice president belongs neither to the executive nor to the legislative branch, but is attached by the constitution to the latter."
-- Vice President Cheney's chief of staff David Addington, 6/26/08

VERSUS

"I think it [the court ruling] restored some of the legitimate authority of the executive branch, the president and the vice president, to be able to conduct their business."
-- Cheney, 4/9/03

Think Progress

Losing On The Forgotten Front

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