 merrie says: The moves underline the military's efforts to remake itself in response to the Afghan war despite the Obama administration's signals that it is far from committed to the current counterinsurgency approach. President Barack Obama met with Defense Secretary Robert Gates Monday as part of the ongoing White House review of Afghanistan policy, which is being re-evaluated in light of the country's flawed presidential elections and the Taliban's recent gains. A senior military official acknowledged that the Afghan Hands initiative, the most important of the new efforts, could be modified or scaled back if the White House decides on a new strategy. "None of this is inflexible or set in stone," the official said. The strategic review comes amid worsening violence across Afghanistan. At least 16 U.S. troops have already been killed in October, matching the entire American death toll for October 2008. Mr. Gates, speaking to an Army gathering on Monday . . . . . said that Afghanistan was on a “worrisome trajectory,” with violence up 60% from last year. That’s a change from moving officers from assignment to assignment based on overall institutional needs, which means troops can do deployments in Afghanistan and then not look at the conflict again for several years. The Afghan Hands initiative is meant to immerse dozens of officers from each of the military’s services in Afghanistan for three to five years. Troops selected for the program will do a year in Afghanistan before moving to the Pentagon’s new Afghanistan office or to jobs at Central Command that are focused on the war. In a classified assessment made public last month, Gen. McChry... |
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