With the neocons, Republican leaders, certain other prominent Republicans, some Pentagon insiders, and just plain idiots ramping up pressure on President Obama to escalate the failed war in Afghanistan, there has been a reported split within the administration on what to do. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and special envoy Richard Holbrooke are said to support the escalation. Vice President Biden is said to oppose it. According to Rahm Emanuel, the only decision the president has made is to take an approach that can only be described as circumspect and cautious. Which is a very good thing.
The Associated Press:
President Barack Obama does not intend to decide about sending additional troops to Afghanistan until he is satisfied that the Kabul government can work effectively with the U.S., a top White House aide said Sunday.
"It would be reckless to make a decision on U.S. troop levels if in fact you haven't done a thorough analysis of whether in fact there's an Afghan partner ready to fill that space that U.S. troops would create and become a true partner in governing," said the president's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.
Emanuel gave no timetable for a presidential decision in Afghanistan. He said the White House plans to have additional strategy sessions this week and next, extending a review process that began after the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, reported that more U.S. troops are required.
This is great news on a couple levels. It's great news not only because the president isn't acceding to the demands of those advocating an escalation, it's great news because he apparently isn't feeling any pressure to make an immediate decision. He seems to be asking the question many of us are asking about the requested escalation: to what end?
Senator John Kerry, who along with such respected voices as former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke and Senator Carl Levin already had expressed skepticism about the request for more troops, also spoke out, today. Also from the above AP article:
"It would be entirely irresponsible for the president of the United States to commit more troops to this country when we don't even have an election finished and know who the president is and what kind of government we're working with," said Kerry, D-Mass.
As reported by the Guardian, on Friday, Afghanistan is not close to having a settled government:
Britain and the United States are attempting to avert a political crisis in Afghanistan as fears mounted in Kabul that Hamid Karzai will refuse to accept the results of an official inquiry into massive electoral fraud that is expected to trigger a fresh round of voting.
Diplomatic sources in the Afghan capital said the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was due to call the Afghan president amid concerns that he will reject the findings of the Election Complaints Commission (ECC), due to be published on Saturday. Downing Street confirmed that Gordon Brown has telephoned the Afghan president twice this week. The US ambassador to Kabul is expected to visit the presidential palace.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Karzai and his supporters seem to be digging in:
Afghan President Hamid Karzai may not accept the results of a vote recount from the summer's general election, officials from his campaign hinted, adding a further twist to the already fraught post-poll political environment. On Sunday, his supporters began demonstrations against "foreign interference" in the elections.
As they await the results of a recount to try to adjust for widespread fraud, officials from the Karzai campaign began over the weekend to cast aspersions on the process, centering their criticism on the United Nations-backed Electoral Complaints Commission, which is re-tallying the numbers. The commission finished its audit Saturday, and is reviewing it before releasing it in coming days. If Mr. Karzai is found to have less than 50% of the vote, it could force a run-off with his top challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.
Karzai campaign spokesman Waheed Omar said Sunday that the recount process is being "politically manipulated" by outsiders and that the results may not be acceptable.
"The ECC is pretty much controlled by foreigners, and its foreign commissioners intervene in the process," said Maeen Mirstyal, a lawmaker and chief advisor to the Karzai campaign. The commission denies the charge.
Which is fine. Let the Karzai government write its own epitaph. This already has been the deadliest year for American troops in Afghanistan. As I've previously written, the disaster in Afghanistan defined the Bush Administration. It must not do the same for the Obama Administration. As Jeff Huber points out, there is nothing in Afghanistan to win. As I've also previously written, there is no good end in sight. The usual suspects are up to their usual machinations, but with today's comments, Rahm Emanuel is indicating that the president, very wisely, is not being swayed.