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Haiti: Preparing for a Long Mission
On Wednesday, the Center for Defense Studies hosted an event on the international relief effort in Haiti, with a focus on the U.S. military’s mission there. Haitian Ambassador Raymond Joseph provided keynote remarks, while Robert Perito of USIP and Johanna Mendelson-Forman of CSIS joined Roger Noriega, Tim Sullivan, and Tom Donnelly of AEI for a [...]
Haiti: US-UN Division of Labor Formalized
Last Friday, the United States and the United Nations formalized an agreement with respect to the division of labor among international forces in Haiti. Peacekeepers and police officers from the UN’s MINUSTAH mission, with assistance from the Haitian National Police, will remain in the lead in providing security and keeping order among the Haitian population [...]
Haiti: Marines Arrive, Prepare Westward Push
The Washington Post reported yesterday that Haitians have been calling not simply for a greater international aid and security presence Port-au-Prince, but for assistance from one particular group of American warfighters:
“We’re all scared. We need the United Nations and we need the United States Marines.” Indeed, all over Port-au-Prince, signs begging for help from the [...]
Haiti: Security Concerns / PAP Airfield Update
In an interview Sunday on ABC’s This Week, LTG Ken Keen, deputy SOUTHCOM chief and commander of the newly-formed Joint Task Force-Haiti, explained that “our principal mission [is] humanitarian assistance, but the security component is going to be an increasing part of that….And we’re going to have to address that along with the United Nations [...]
A Non-decision on ANSF
The White House, it seems, has punted on the decision to double the size of the Afghan National Security Forces. The question of setting a target end-strength of 400,000 for the ANSF — as advocated by Gen. McChrystal, the Afghan defense minister, and others in Afghanistan’s military — will likely be taken up in late [...]
Don’t Shortchange the ANSF
The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that, as expected, the White House has balked at the recommendation of Gen. McChrystal and others to double the projected end strength of the Afghan National Security Forces. Never mind that Afghanistan’s defense minister and others within the Afghan government have insisted that a combined force of 400,000–the [...]
The Moment We’ve All Been Waiting For
Reports today indicate that President Obama will announce his new, revised strategy for Afghanistan in an address next Tuesday. Later in the week, General Stanley McChrystal and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry are expected to testify before Congress, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It’s also been reported that the president [...]
Owning the War, Then Selling It
It’s been suggested recently that the period since August has afforded President Obama the opportunity to come to terms with, internalize, and indeed begin to “own” the war in Afghanistan. In response to such observations, Peter Feaver has an excellent post over at Foreign Policy in which he points out that, regardless of whether or [...]
Realignment in Helmand
The Times of London reported yesterday that British forces may soon withdraw from the towns and villages in northern Helmand province that have long been the focus of UK operations in Afghanistan. According to the story, the withdrawal would include elements of the forces currently operating in Musa Qala, where British troops have struggled since [...]
