By Steve Hynd
From McClatchy's Nancy Youssef (h/t Tina) comes the news that Obama's plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan is to be given yet another review, it's fifth since Obama took office.
The Defense Department announced Monday that Gates has ordered the new U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, and his deputy, Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, to submit a review of the U.S. strategy within 60 days of their arrival in Afghanistan.
The National Security Council, the U.S. Central Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff each have already reviewed the U.S. Afghan strategy, and civilian departments conducted a separate interagency review. On March 27, shortly after those reviews were completed, the administration announced a new strategy that called for defeating al Qaida, reducing civilian casualties and eliminating terrorist safe havens.
The administration promised that within weeks it would establish benchmarks to measure progress in Afghanistan. On Monday, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters that the administration is still drafting those benchmarks.
...The need to review a strategy that hasn't been implemented yet is being driven by U.S. domestic politics, as well as by developments on the ground.
The first five months of this year have seen a 59 percent increase in insurgent attacks in Afghanistan, a 62 percent increase in coalition deaths and a 64 percent increase in the use of improvised explosives compared to the same period last year, according to Defense Department statistics. Those are highest levels so far in the eight-year war.
Meanwhile, some congressional Democrats have begun to question the administration's request for additional funds for the Afghan war and what they say is the absence of a clear exit strategy.
"As the mission has grown bigger, the policy has grown even more vague," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.
As a result, three defense officials told McClatchy, McChrystal's clearest goal for the next year is to change the perception that the Afghan war is a potential quagmire in time for next year's midterm congressional elections.
Just like Bush intended with the Surge in Iraq - which never had a chance of accomplishing its up-front mission - Iraqi political reconcilliation - but did a great job of providing cover for a political narrative of "success" on the domestic front. Deja vu all over again. The smart bet is that McChrystal will consult with the same dozen COINdinista experts and interventionist Very Serious People and come to the same conclusion as all the other reviews. But the Af/Pak Plan will still be benchmark free and American foreign policy will still best be defined as domestic political gaming inflicted upon foreigners.
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