Former Army Vice Chief of Staff General Jack Keane says counterterrorism operations are valuable, but must be used to compliment a “fully integrated, civil military counter-insurgent strategy” in Afghanistan. (0:11)
By Meagan Wiseley – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
In a hearing Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) and Ranking member Howard McKeon (R-Calif.) said they both strongly support General Stanley McChrystal’s proposed counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy in Afghanistan and have sent a letter to McChrystal requesting him to testify before the Committee.
Retired U.S. Army General Jack Keane echoed a similar sentiment during his testimony before the committee, saying the U.S. must “put in play a COIN strategy with the appropriate military, civilian and financial resources.”
Gen. Keane, who retired in 2003, described the U.S. attempt of counter-terrorism (CT) in Iraq between 2003-2007 and said during that period of time “we were failing and we nearly lost the country.” He says the situation in Afghanistan has “simply gotten worse” because of the CT strategy being used in currently. He believes CT strategies are valuable, but must be used as a compliment to a “fully integrated civil-military counterinsurgency strategy.”
Gen. Keane cautioned the use of a COIN strategy without the proper amount of troops or resources saying it will “fail and fail miserably.”
However, a voice of dissent came from Dr. Paul Pillar, former Deputy Directory of the CIA’s Counter-terrorist Center, who instead believes the U.S. should avoid bolstering its military presence.
“An expanded military effort in the cause of counterinsurgency in Afghanistan would be unwarranted,” Pillar said. The former CIA official went on to say he believes the cost of counterinsurgency, U.S. equities, monetary resources and American lives, would outweigh the benefit.
“Last week the President told members of congress that his decision [on the war in Afghanistan] will be timely,” McKeon said during the hearing’s close. “My hope and expectation is that the President will make a decision on resources in the coming week and stick with it.”
“Time is of the essence,” McKeon added.
By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service
General David Petraeus, Commander of the United States Central Command, warned that military missions against terrorist groups are comprehensive and require more than force.
“Countering terrorism requires more than counter-terrorist operations,” said Petraeus today in a speech to the Center of a New American Security. The General went on to discuss the implications of shifting military attention from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan and how the U.S.’ experience in Iraq should optimize the efficiency of military operations in other countries.
“As we turn and shift our focus to Afghanistan and Pakistan it is very important to reflect on what we learned from Iraq and to remember that you have to apply what was learned there with a very nuanced understanding…of local circumstances,” said Petraeus.
Petraeus was one of the leading figures during the 2007 surge of U.S. troops in Iraq, a move that increased U.S. military capability in the Middle East by more than 20,000 soldiers and additional brigades. The surge was instrumental in the counterinsurgency mission that would help secure the region. Petraeus completed his work in Iraq by rebuilding the Iraqi army.
Petraeus highlighted the success of the U.S. army in improving security conditions, stating “We’ve gone from a situation in which June of 2006 or 2007 saw 160 attacks per day on average. in Iraq it is now between 10 and 15 attacks per day and has been that way for about 6 months now; in fact in the low end of that in recent weeks.”
However, Petraeus did concede that last month was an exception. There were over 400 attacks in May, the highest in the country’s post-invasion history.
The General touched upon the peacekeeping role that the army has recently acquired with the Iraq mission and named the safety of the civilian population as a major priority.
“The overriding mission of a military force in counterinsurgency has to be to secure the people and…be seen as securing and serving them. This is hugely important,” said Petraeus.
Petraeus explained that once security has been established throughout the country, the U.S. would not be able to leave Afghanistan until they have assured that the established government follows a peace-ensuring criteria.
“Our committee believes that the terrorist threat against the United States continues, that it is serious and we support vigorous action by the federal government to counter it,” said the National Academy of Engineering President Charles Vest. Vest is also the co-chair of the National Research Council committee which today released a new study: Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists: a framework for program assessments. The report focuses on preventing counter terrorism and still keeping Americans privacy intact.
The Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation requested and sponsored the report in order to highlight the importance of evaluating data mining, an analyzing method used to find specific relevant information in a large amount of data, as well as behavioral surveillance technology. According to Vest, the counter terrorism community must have access to the best tools and technologies in gathering information, but still the Americans privacy must be protected.
“In order to get the best possible tools there must be a realistic assessment,” said William Perry former U.S. Secretary of Defense, also co-chair of the committee. According to Perry, most of the conclusions stated in the report was based on common sense. “The terror threat to the United States is real … We do not underestimate that at all,” said Perry.
