A Very Different Situation
CNAS Author: Dr. Andrew M. Exum
Original Post: A Very Different Situation
Type: CNAS Commentary
June 24, 2010 — David Petraeus is going to find Afghanistan in 2010 a greater challenge than Iraq in 2007 for three reasons.
First, General Petraeus will quickly discover that while challenging the organization culture of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps was difficult, challenging the organizational cultures of the 38 nations that contribute to the International Security and Assistance Force (I.S.A.F.) in Afghanistan is orders of magnitude more complicated.
Second, General Petraeus was blessed in Iraq to partner with Ryan Crocker, a career ambassador who is now retired. Ambassador Crocker is perhaps the most accomplished foreign service officer over the past two decades. He and General Petraeus set a new standard for civilian-military cooperation; indeed, Ambassador Crocker does not get the credit he deserves for the U.S. successes in Iraq in 2007. In Afghanistan, by contrast, General Petraeus will partner with the accomplished British diplomat and NATO civilian representative Mark Sedwill but also with U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, a retired U.S. Army general who has clashed repeatedly with the I.S.A.F. staff over strategy in Afghanistan.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s comments to Rolling Stone magazine were inexcusable, but the frustration he voiced with Ambassador Eikenberry for sending cables to Washington questioning the strategy without first sharing his reservations with General McChrystal was understandable. It is clear that there is little agreement between the U.S. embassy in Kabul and the NATO command on the way forward in Afghanistan.
Third and finally, in Iraq, General Petraeus was very good but also very lucky. His Baghdad security operations coincided with a Mahdi Army ceasefire, a tribal rebellion in Anbar Province and the effects of a brutal civil war fought out in 2006. In Afghanistan, by contrast, government corruption and Pakistani support for militant groups undermines U.S. and allied efforts.
General Petraeus will likely continue the counterinsurgency strategy set in motion by General McChrystal. But unlike in Iraq, he is liable to find not only the Taliban but also his nominal allies threatening progress every step of the way.
Topic(s): Iraq, Regional Security Challenges, Terrorism, Irregular Warfare and Crime, Development and Diplomacy, U.S. Military Forces & Operations, U.S. National Security and Defense Policy
Project(s): Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iraq, Civilian Capacity, Diplomacy and Development
People: Dr. Andrew M. Exum
