James L. Jones: "Generals Always Ask For More Troops"

By Steve Hynd

In a new interview with German mag Der Spiegel out today, Obama's National Security Adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, is sounding skeptical about the McChrystal escalation request for extra troops in Afghanistan. He says, dismissively, that "generals always ask for more troops".

SPIEGEL: The Obama administration is reviewing the strategy for Afghanistan. General Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, is asking for additional troops.

Jones: Generals always ask for more troops. Take it from me.

SPIEGEL: You would know. You're also a general and you were in Afghanistan from 2003 to almost 2007 ...

Jones: ... and of course when I was there I asked for more troops. When we started in 2003, we had to develop a plan. So by definition, you have to ask for people.

SPIEGEL: And now you support General McChrystal's demand for 40,000 additional troops?

Jones: We are in the middle of a process with the president and all of his advisers in assessing the overall situation in Afghanistan. I believe we will not solve the problem with troops alone. The minimum number is important, of course. But there is no maximum number, however. And what's really important in Afghanistan is that with this new administration we insist on good governance, that it be coordinated with economic development and security, and that we have much, much better success at handing over responsibility for these three things to the Afghans.

SPIEGEL: To President Hamid Karzai, who has just been reelected after a controversial election?

Jones: To the Afghans. And we will put much more emphasis on battling corruption and putting competent and honest people in positions of authority. We will be working with our friends and allies to do that.

SPIEGEL: When do you expect a final decision on McChrystal's request?

Jones: It will be a decision made by all NATO members, not just the US president. As part of NATO we are one of 28 nations, and we are going to closely follow NATO's discussions of the McChrystal request. It's a NATO request of which the US will do a portion of it, but we think other countries will do their share as well.

If Jones really means that, and isn't just glad-handing NATO co-operation to a European media outlet, then the McChrystal request may just be D.O.A. Britain might contribute troops for a training mission, but I doubt America will get any other realistic contributions from other NATO members. Canada is on its way to its own exit ramp, Italy and France will not get further involved and Germany is deeply riven on the issue. The rest, frankly, don't count.

Jones also suggests that the main mission of "defeating , disrupting, and dismantling" Al Qaeda has already succeeded in Afghanistan and that the real focus of that mission is now in Pakistan - where extra US and NATO troops are of very limited usefulness.

SPIEGEL: What is the goal in Afghanistan right now -- to win the war?

Jones: Our definition of the goal has been to defeat, disrupt, and dismantle the al-Qaida network, which is the one that is the most significant threat to our homeland and to the European homeland. These are people that will stop at nothing. So we pay a lot of attention to where they are and what they're doing. We want those three D's, if you will, to make sure that they cannot come back to Afghanistan and reestablish a platform from which they can organize and equip themselves to do what they did several years ago. On that score, we're pretty successful in Afghanistan.

SPIEGEL: But al-Qaida has not been destroyed. The terrorists are now operating from Pakistan.

Jones: Unfortunately, there are some safe havens in Pakistan and it looks like the Pakistan army is seriously going after them. There are operations in Swat Valley and now in South Waziristan and we hope that they will continue. We intend to be of whatever help we can to ensure that they try to rid themselves of that cancer that exists between the two countries.

SPIEGEL: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently expressed her disappointment in how the Pakistani government is fighting al-Qaida. Do you share her view?

Jones: Well, if you had been here in March and asked me the question whether I'm more worried about Afghanistan or Pakistan, I would have said Pakistan because they had this policy of appeasement, which was flawed. I think they recognized it as well. Since March, they have done reasonably well in what they set out to do. We hope they have long-term objectives to go after all insurgents, not just theirs, but after the Afghan Taliban, al-Qaida, and other groups. This is really going to continue to eat at the fabric of their country if they don't.

Although Jones says that he doesn't know when U.S. troops will withdraw from Afghanistan, he also raises the legitimacy issue, using a phrase other administration officials have already trotted out: "we can't want this more than the Afghans". He also says "You can keep on putting troops in, and you could have 200,000 troops there and the country will swallow them up as it has done in the past."

With administration officials signalling that we're still some time away from any official announcement on McChrystal's plan, Jones would appear to be one of the skeptical voices within the administration about the need for that escalation.