Pakistan Officials Confused about Role in Afghan War-Want clarity

by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | December 3, 2009 at 06:05 am

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President Obama gave his speech on the Afghanistan Strategy on Tuesday evening at West Point. There has been a lot of discussion and back and forth on the President's decision.

The Presidents base is disappointed despite the fact that President Obama had made the war in Afghanistan a part of his platform during the campaign.

While the review of the speech by America's Allies was positive for the most part, there seems to be some confusion as to what the President really meant.

This was apparent at the Armed Services Committee yesterday, when John McCain drilled Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates and Admiral Mullen on the exit strategy. McCain maintains that an exit date and combined with the statement if conditions on the ground permit do not make sense. He maintains that a safe and secure environment has to be established and Afghan Security Forces trained prior to an exit strategy. The three Administration members affirmed this. There seems to be a lack of clarity in this regard.

Richard Holbrooke this morning on CBC News Net, said that the speech was misunderstood by Europeans and that this was a tremendous commitment on behalf of the United States and that the strategy really calls for starting the withdrawal as the Afghan Security Forces get trained up. Holbrooke said there should be no doubt in the U.S. resolve.

Puzzled? Is there any wonder that Pakistan is confused about the strategy? Pakistan was mentioned by the President as having a big stake in this process, yet Pakistan is not clear on the policy.

In a statement, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the government welcomed Obama's "reaffirmation of partnership." At the same time, it stressed the "need for clarity" in the new U.S. policy and said it wanted to "ensure that there would be no adverse fallout on Pakistan."

This statement is amazing, since the White House said that the President was burning up the phone lines to the Allies on Tuesday. I never thought that President Obama had trouble communicating his ideas or for that matter strategy. Why does this Strategy seem so blurry to European Allies and Pakistan?

Analysts and residents on both sides of the 1,600-mile border expressed concerns about Obama's plan to send 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan in an effort to quickly train local security forces and allow U.S. troops to begin leaving by July 2011.

But officials in Pakistan, which is fighting its own Taliban insurgency, expressed particular concern about their role in the strategy, which calls on this country to step up its cooperation in the fight against terrorism in exchange for a pledge of a long-term partnership "after the guns fall silent."

In a cautious statement, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the government welcomed Obama's "reaffirmation of partnership." At the same time, it stressed the "need for clarity" in the new U.S. policy and said it wanted to "ensure that there would be no adverse fallout on Pakistan."

The partnership with Pakistan is key if Washington is to succeed in a region that Obama said Tuesday night