Foreign Relations Analyst Says Obama Should Adopt Afghanistan Strategy Now

By Meagan Wiseley, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, advised the Obama administration Friday not to wait for Afghanistan’s runoff election to decide upon a military strategy for the region.

“I think it’s a bit of a cop-out to say we have to wait until after the election to see if there’s a government we can work with,” Boot said during a late morning conference call. “I think we have a pretty good sense it’s going to be a somewhat dysfunctional government no matter what happens with the election.”

“The odds are that Karzai will win and we’ll face exactly the same set of problems after the election that we face today,” Boot added.

Boot supports the U.S. counterinsurgency (COIN) military strategy in Afghanistan, proposed by General Stanley McChrystal. COIN, he says, will improve Afghan stability and lead to a future where Afghan leaders can successfully govern it’s citizens without the temptation to join forces with the Taliban or al-Qaida.

“The best way to expand and improve the capabilities of an indigenous security force is by partnering them with American unit,” said Boot. “To do that you have to have more American units on the ground … which is going to happen over the next two years under the McChrystal plan.”

McChrystal compiled a report suggesting 40,000 additional troops, but President Barack Obama has not settled on strategic approach for the 8 year old Afghan war.

The run-off election is scheduled for November 7th and will be between current President Hamid Karzai and politician Abdullah Abdullah.