Zakaria on a Third Surge in Afghanistan
The real question we should be asking in Afghanistan is not "Do we need a surge?" but rather "Do we need a third surge?" The number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in January 2008 was 26,607. Over the next six months, the Bush administration raised the total to 48,250. President Bush described this policy as "the quiet surge," and he made the standard arguments about the need for a counterinsurgency capacity—the troops had to not only fight the Taliban but ... Full Story »
Posted by Derek Hawkins
As Tyler Moselle pointed out in the Financial Times Oct. 23rd, in "Obama must shift the debate about a troop surge", too many US decision makers think "counterinsurgency" is the best way forward. They do not even consider the possiblity if not virtual certainty that other countries are better able to deal with Afghanistan, than is the US.