Source: Examiner
Afghan War takes back seat to Obama agendaby Jim Kouri, CPP
While President Barack Obama hobnobed with the world’s elite in New York City during his speechmaking and Security Council chairing United Nations visit, his handpicked Afghanistan military commander’s request for more troops and more support simmered on the back-burner.
General Stanley McCrystal submitted his report to his Commander-in-Chief in late August, yet President Obama has failed to act. When it came to the stimulus plan, the health care plan, and other domestic initiatives, Obama and the Democrats openly rushed legislation not even read by those expected to vote on the bills in both houses of Congress. Yet, when the lives of US soldiers and the stability within Afghanistan hang in the balance, there appears to be a lack of the fervor shown for a takeover of health care in the US.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been learning experiences, forcing military leadership to reassess and modify tactics to effectively counter an irregular foe, according to Ian Graham, a spokesman for the American Forces Press Service in a terrorism report to the National Association of Chiefs of Police.
That was the assessment of military and civilian defense leaders who attended the “Counterinsurgency Leadership in Afghanistan, Iraq and Beyond” conference yesterday at the National Press Club here. The focus was lessons learned in Afghanistan and Iraq and how they can be applied to current counterinsurgency operations.
“The need for leadership goes beyond today’s conflicts and lies at the heart of current debates of the future of our national security organizations and strategy,” Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Robert B. Neller said. “Although most of the public discourse thus far has concentrated on questions of equipment and future threats, leadership will also be a crucial variable.”
Neller is the commanding general for Marine Corps Education Command and president of Marine Corps University in Quantico, Va., which hosted the conference.
“Selecting the right commanders became more important than ever to unit effectiveness” in 2002 and 2003, he said. “We have come a long way in recent years, but opportunities for further improvement in leadership development and command selection remain.”
Marine Corps University worked to get a group of counterinsurgency “all-stars” together to provide a wide scope of perspectives and opinions for the conference, said Mark Moyar, a professor of national security affairs and one of the organizers of the event.
“Counterinsurgency leadership seemed to be a subject that hadn’t gotten the attention it deserved,” Moyar said.
Military leaders including Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Brig. Gen. H.R. McMaster, the commander and assistant to the commander, respectively, of Multinational Force Iraq in 2007 and 2008; representatives from “think tanks” including Robert Kaplan from the Center for a New American Security; and professors from military and civilian universities, including Moyar, weighed in on subjects ranging from specific methods for fighting an insurgency to the Afghan elections and how they affect strategy there.
“The fact that we can tie a lot of our discussion to current events in Afghanistan made the conference … it wasn’t just for academics, it showed our military options, what we need to do and some possible plans for moving forward in Afghanistan,” Moyar said.
Petraeus finished the conference by fielding questions about his experience in Iraq and his current work as commander of U.S. Central Command. Though he was careful not to make any statements about policy currently being debated, he gave some insight into ways the military can adjust its strategy.
Ultimately, he said, leadership needs to be flexible enough to adapt to the constantly changing landscape of counterinsurgency in order to win irregular wars. When the enemy is using cell phones to detonate explosives and use common street clothing as camouflage, 20th century tactics simply won’t cut it.
It’s hope that Obama will read transcripts of the presentations and discourse during the symposium; there’s much to learn.
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he’s a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he’s the former editor for the House Conservatives Fund’s weblog. Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed “Crack City” by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com. He’s also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He’s appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc.
To subscribe to Kouri’s newsletter write to COPmagazine@aol.com and write “Subscription” on the subject line.
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