[Peace-discuss] Afghanistan: The Four Questions

[Robert Naiman]

President Obama is expected to "announce" his "new" Afghanistan
strategy Friday - the traditional Washington day for burying things.
...
It is widely recognized that sending more people - whether soldiers or
civilians - is very unlikely in itself to change anything fundamental,
because the order of magnitude is wrong. The United States has not
been, is not, and almost certainly never will be willing and able to
commit the resources which would be necessary to transform Afghanistan
into a peaceful "democracy" according to the present policy. The most
that could be plausibly hoped for is that additional resources would
help make a new policy work: a new policy based on a fundamental,
political shift in US policy, including accommodation with the bulk of
the political forces now backing Afghanistan's various insurgencies.
...
What finally matters are the answers to four questions that are only
now beginning to be asked.

  1. Will the United States support political negotiations between
the Afghan government and leaders of Afghanistan's insurgencies?
...
2. Is the United States prepared to discuss its long-term intentions
in Afghanistan?
...
3. Is the United States prepared to relax the political constraints it
has previously imposed on Afghan negotiations?
...
4. Is the United States prepared to address the political roots of
Pakistan's relationship with the Afghan insurgencies?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/afghanistan-the-four-ques_b_179630.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/26/143616/654

--
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org