The White House on Tuesday defended President Barack Obama’s new war strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, placing blame on the Bush administration for neglecting the region.
“That’s the best way to keep this country safe, to go after the terrorist threat — something the previous administration didn’t do,” said spokesman Robert Gibbs.
The remarks came as the administration makes major command and strategic shifts in Afghanistan, amid stepped-up criticism from former Vice President Dick Cheney, who claims Obama’s policies are endangering the nation.
Congress this week is expected to consider the administration’s request for $91 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for four months as well as aid for Pakistan — as lawmakers from both parties raise questions about Obama’s direction.
“The Afghanistan thing is very, very depressing,” said Sen. James Risch, an Idaho Republican and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I’d love to see an endgame, but I don’t know who’s smart enough to develop an endgame for us in that country.”
Defense Secretary Robert Gates this week replaced Army Gen. David McKiernan as U.S. forces commander in Afghanistan in favor of Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, a former special operations commander in Iraq who also served in Afghanistan.
The decision, approved by Obama, signals a new course in Afghanistan — away from conventional warfare and toward the counterinsurgency tactics favored by McChrystal, who must be confirmed by the Senate.
The moves also further define Afghanistan as Obama’s war, with his political fortunes tied to its outcome.
“The president has taken action long needed to address our fundamental threat throughout the globe, and that is in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to put a renewed focus on the exact location of where extremists have targeted this country,” Gibbs said.
The administration recently competed a strategic review of the war in Afghanistan and committed 21,000 more troops to the battle — a move that angered some Democrats looking for an end to Bush-era wars.
“Adding 21,000 new troops in Afghanistan, I fear, could further destabilize Pakistan without providing lasting security improvements in Afghanistan,” said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
Increasingly, Pakistan and Afghanistan have become a single, persistent problem with many different parts for the Obama administration, which is also seeking $7.5 billion over five years to help Pakistani infrastructure and social services.
James Phillips, an expert on Afghanistan at the Heritage Foundation, said Afghanistan was a “winnable war,” but would require patience.
“[Army Gen. David] Petraeus is going to need at least two or three years before things get markedly better,” Phillips said. “Washington politicians are too nervous about this, based on the Iraq experience, and I do think the administration has to do more work in shoring up public support for Afghanistan.”
A spate of coordinated suicide bombings in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday killed an estimated 20 people and wounded three American troops.
