First John:
NATO's Secretary General earns his salary for the year in the Washington Post piece below describing much-needed improvements to the counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan and Pakistan - a population security approach that builds Afghan government legitimacy; better understanding within NATO of counterinsurgency principles, especially the comprehensive approach that focuses on non-military solutions; a regional approach that includes Pakistan as an inherent part of the problem in Afghanistan; and better strategic communications to the region and to our own peoples.
He'll earn next year's salary a hundred times over if he can get NATO to implement the wisdom contained here.
And from Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the Washington Post:
It has been seven years since Afghan forces supported by the United States toppled the Taliban and denied al-Qaeda the terrorist haven, training ground and launch pad that Afghanistan had become. Since then, there has been clear, substantial progress, including democratic elections, the liberation of many Afghan women to take their place in public life, and improvements in health care and education.
But an honest assessment of Afghanistan must conclude that we are not where we might have hoped to be by now. While the country's north and west are largely at peace and improving, the south and east are riven by insurgency, drugs and ineffective government. Afghans are increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress in building up their country. And the populations in countries that have contributed troops to the NATO-led mission are wondering how long this operation must last -- and how many young men and women we will lose carrying it out.
In April, to mark the 60th anniversary of NATO's founding, the member nations' heads of state and government will meet in Strasbourg, France, and Kehl, Germany. This meeting is to be part of Barack Obama's first visit to Europe as president, and it will present an opportunity for alliance leaders to discuss the way forward. Five key lessons from recent years should help shape the path of this mission...
Continue on for the five key lessons. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is the Secretary General of NATO.
Comments
Here's a nice bit of geopolitical "nuance" from, of all people -- the Indonesians --: "NATO, No Action; Talk Only..."
In full agreement, he most certainly earned his money. (How much longer is his tenure at NATO?)
His diplomatic, yet pointed, call for the international community to prioritize their strategic communications (amoung other things...) is a long overdue sounding of the horn. As was his pointng out NATO'S efforts are best described as patchwork.
The "international community" needs to get all the way on board and be vested in success in Afghanistan. Too many members of the "community of nations" have been content in ignoring Afghanistan, not meeting their stated commitments, or not playing significant roles in pursuing the oft mentioned non-military solutions.
Bravo Mr. Secretary.