Obama Has No Afghanistan Strategy

Another example of why President Obama is not a policy wonk or takes policy seriously: special adviser Richard Holbrooke announced that the United States has no exit strategy for Afghanistan.

"We do not have an exit strategy but a transition strategy," Holbrooke said, adding that "2014 is not the end of international presence in Afghanistan (but) to be sure there will be some drawdown (of troops) in July next year. The size and pace will be decided by the president."

Translation: the Obama administration is winging this. Last year, Robert Gibbs told Chip Reid of CBS News that the 2011 withdrawal date was "locked" in. Gibbs' statement contradicted those of Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and Sec. of Defense Robert Gates. Both said that their offices had made no plans for withdawal in 2011. Bob Woodward reported that General David Petraeus has refused to provide President Obama with an exit strategy for Afghanistan. Obama could have fired Petraeus for insubordination. Obama chose political safety over firing a General who undermined his own policy.

We now know the the 2011 date is not "locked" in. Obama's promise of Afghan police and military ready to fend for themselves by 2011 was pure fantasy. Obama has never adequately addressed what is the mission in Afghanistan. Reports indicate al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden have moved to Pakistan.

During the election, Obama hinted at sending in troops into Pakistan. With the expection of special forces and predator drones; Obama has not given any indication of using full military manpower to invade al-Qaeda strongholds in Pakistan.

In 2009, military contractors outnumbered troops in Afghanistan. Phillip Carter and Paul Glastris wrote a highly controversial article in The Washington Monthly making the case to reinstitute the draft.

But there's a deeper problem, one that any president who chose to invade a country the size of Iraq would have faced. In short, America's all-volunteer military simply cannot deploy and sustain enough troops to succeed in places like Iraq while still deterring threats elsewhere in the world. Simply adding more soldiers to the active duty force, as some are now suggesting, may sound like a good solution. But it's not, for sound operational and pragmatic reasons. America doesn't need a bigger standing army; it needs a deep bench of trained soldiers held in reserve who can be mobilized to handle the unpredictable but unevitable wars and humanitarian interventions of the future. And while there are several ways for an all-volunteer force can create some extra surge capacity, all of them are limited.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have made it more difficult to retain and recruit soldiers. This is why the United States has relied heavily on contractors. These military contractors do not report to the military chain of command have endangered U.S. troops and civilians. Obama will keep using contractors because he knows the draft would be highly unpopular with the American public.

Obama's Afghanistan policy has nothing to do with defeating al-Qaeda or killing Osama bin Laden. Obama isn't willing to institute a policy that would remove troops from Afghanistan or defeat the al-Qaeda network in Pakistan. Obama is looking for a solution that will cause him the least amount of political pain. Unfortunately, brave men and women will die because Obama is more concerned with being elected for a second term.