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Surge Worked in Iraq, But Beware Afghanistan

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted May 12, 2009 5:52 PM CDT
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(Newser) – A new book on the surge in Iraq could offer lessons to the Obama administration about Afghanistan, Dexter Filkins writes in the New Republic. Thomas E. Ricks’ The Gamble details the success of a small band of contrarian US generals, led by David Petraeus, in turning around the war. But “what Petraeus and the other generals have ensured, by staving off defeat, is a longer war,” Filkins writes. Could that be the fate of Afghanistan?

The surge worked because of a combination of luck, a risky strategy to deploy soldiers in neighborhoods, and the so-called Awakening, in which Sunni sheiks squeezed by al-Qaeda and Shiites joined the Americans. The stars may not align in quite the same way in Afghanistan, so beware "facile analogies," Filkins writes. "It is a different world in South Asia. The war in Afghanistan is in its eighth year. Every day Pakistan lurches closer to collapse. Obama's proposals may be too late. Failure is always an option."

An Apache helicopter fires a missile at a suspected Taliban position as a soldier mans a machine gun in Afghanistan.
An Apache helicopter fires a missile at a suspected Taliban position as a soldier mans a machine gun in Afghanistan.   (AP Photo)
David Petraeus.
David Petraeus.   (AP Photo)
A Marine in Afghanistan.
A Marine in Afghanistan.   (AP Photo)
An Afghan soldier.
An Afghan soldier.   (AP Photo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
justme
May 13, 2009 12:40 PM CDT
Afghanistan is not Bush's fault. It needed to be cleared out. Bush invaded Iraq when he could have waited and kept more emphasis on Afghanistan. Then a failed set of strategies nearly lost a winnable war. By the time that mess was turned around, he was nearly out of office and his party paid the price. Afghanistan still needs to be cleared out . It is a failed state and a haven for terror.
oldgoat
May 13, 2009 9:54 AM CDT
In the first place the idea that the surge succeded might not be true. It was a fairly safe bet that if you overload the city with troops and at the same time are paying one of the factions not to fight that the violence will go away. Since we have stopped the payments and the troops have started pulling out you will notice that the violence is starting back up. In effect the surge lasted long enough for Bush to leave office. If Bush would have stayed with the original plan of settleing Afghanistan we wouldn't have been in the position of basically starting over again.
Fondue
May 12, 2009 11:45 AM CDT
The sad thing is, most of this is the previous administrations fault.
US • World

 
troop surge • David Petraeus • US military • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • Obama administration • Gen. Ray Odierno • Thomas E. Ricks

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