lily
01-26-2007, 01:14 AM
Link (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012401877.html?referrer=email)
Bush Plans New Focus On Afghan Recovery
Extra $7 Billion Would Go to Security, Roads
By Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 25, 2007; Page A01
After the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion, the Bush
administration is preparing a series of new military, economic and political
initiatives aimed partly at preempting an expected offensive this spring by
Taliban insurgents, according to senior U.S. officials.
Even as it trumpeted a change of course in Iraq this month, the White House
has completed a review of U.S. policy in Afghanistan. It will ask Congress
for $7 billion to $8 billion in new funds for security, reconstruction and
other projects in Afghanistan as part of the upcoming budget package,
officials said.
That would represent a sizable increase in the U.S. commitment to the
strife-torn country; since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that toppled the
Taliban, the United States has provided a little more than $14 billion in
assistance for Afghanistan, the State Department says.
The U.S. military said yesterday that about 3,500 soldiers in the Army's
10th Mountain Division will have their tours in Afghanistan extended by four
months, as part of an effort to beef up U.S. troop strength. And Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice will meet with other NATO foreign ministers in
Brussels on Friday to discuss Afghanistan, part of a new diplomatic
offensive U.S. officials say is aimed at securing more international support
for the government of President Hamid Karzai.
Although U.S. officials say the Taliban insurgency does not pose an
immediate threat to the Karzai government, they are eager to nip in the bud
a potentially bloody Taliban spring offensive that could erode Afghani
confidence in the central government and in the staying power of the
international coalition that is trying to establish security across the
country.
Violence escalated last year in Afghanistan as allied forces confronted an
emboldened Taliban movement in the south, and the central government
encountered continuing problems providing basic services. Many government
and outside experts on Afghanistan are also worried that the border regions
between Pakistan and Afghanistan are once again turning into safe havens for
Taliban militants and their al-Qaeda allies. One senior official said the
Taliban maintains "command and control" of the insurgency from Pakistan.
"Everyone talks about the Taliban military offensive this spring," said Kurt
D. Volker, a senior State Department official involved with NATO policy. "We
should be the ones taking the offensive if there is an offensive to be done.
. . . It needs to be across the board. It's not just a military issue; it's
a comprehensive issue -- development, counternarcotics, reconstruction and
military." Volker said U.S. officials want to cut off the Taliban's ability
to impose its will on groups in Afghanistan.
The U.S. politics surrounding Afghanistan offer an intriguing counterpoint
to the U.S. politics regarding Iraq. While most Democrats fiercely oppose
President Bush's plan to send another 21,000 troops to Iraq, they support a
more invigorated battle in Afghanistan. If anything, they say, the
administration has neglected Afghanistan, failing to insist that NATO allies
assume more of the burden in maintaining stability there.
Bush Plans New Focus On Afghan Recovery
Extra $7 Billion Would Go to Security, Roads
By Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 25, 2007; Page A01
After the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion, the Bush
administration is preparing a series of new military, economic and political
initiatives aimed partly at preempting an expected offensive this spring by
Taliban insurgents, according to senior U.S. officials.
Even as it trumpeted a change of course in Iraq this month, the White House
has completed a review of U.S. policy in Afghanistan. It will ask Congress
for $7 billion to $8 billion in new funds for security, reconstruction and
other projects in Afghanistan as part of the upcoming budget package,
officials said.
That would represent a sizable increase in the U.S. commitment to the
strife-torn country; since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that toppled the
Taliban, the United States has provided a little more than $14 billion in
assistance for Afghanistan, the State Department says.
The U.S. military said yesterday that about 3,500 soldiers in the Army's
10th Mountain Division will have their tours in Afghanistan extended by four
months, as part of an effort to beef up U.S. troop strength. And Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice will meet with other NATO foreign ministers in
Brussels on Friday to discuss Afghanistan, part of a new diplomatic
offensive U.S. officials say is aimed at securing more international support
for the government of President Hamid Karzai.
Although U.S. officials say the Taliban insurgency does not pose an
immediate threat to the Karzai government, they are eager to nip in the bud
a potentially bloody Taliban spring offensive that could erode Afghani
confidence in the central government and in the staying power of the
international coalition that is trying to establish security across the
country.
Violence escalated last year in Afghanistan as allied forces confronted an
emboldened Taliban movement in the south, and the central government
encountered continuing problems providing basic services. Many government
and outside experts on Afghanistan are also worried that the border regions
between Pakistan and Afghanistan are once again turning into safe havens for
Taliban militants and their al-Qaeda allies. One senior official said the
Taliban maintains "command and control" of the insurgency from Pakistan.
"Everyone talks about the Taliban military offensive this spring," said Kurt
D. Volker, a senior State Department official involved with NATO policy. "We
should be the ones taking the offensive if there is an offensive to be done.
. . . It needs to be across the board. It's not just a military issue; it's
a comprehensive issue -- development, counternarcotics, reconstruction and
military." Volker said U.S. officials want to cut off the Taliban's ability
to impose its will on groups in Afghanistan.
The U.S. politics surrounding Afghanistan offer an intriguing counterpoint
to the U.S. politics regarding Iraq. While most Democrats fiercely oppose
President Bush's plan to send another 21,000 troops to Iraq, they support a
more invigorated battle in Afghanistan. If anything, they say, the
administration has neglected Afghanistan, failing to insist that NATO allies
assume more of the burden in maintaining stability there.