Response to Terrorist Attack in Afghanistan

I am deeply and truly saddened by the attack on the Forward Operating Base Chapman in Afghanistan yesterday. To lose one’s colleagues to this madness is difficult, to lose friends even more so.

Every day, Americans are working to fight extremism and combat terrorism in a part of the world very far and different from where they are from. Our brave young men and women fight tirelessly to protect us and provide safety and security for others, and do not deserve to be targeted by those whose only weapon is fear.

Our goal in Afghanistan, to dismantle al-Qa’ida and to support a government that protects and respects its citizens, is a noble one that deserves our focus, sacrifice, and dedication. My brothers and sisters who gave their lives did so not only our country, but for the future of a country many of us will never visit, and should be remembered as heroes.

As we begin the New Year, we should honor these and the other heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice, by keeping them and their families forever in our prayers, and never losing our resolve to stand against the evil in the world.

-Will

Merry Christmas

I want to take this opportunity to wish y’all a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope that you have a wonderful time with your friends and family during this holiday.

Last year, I was in Kabul with my colleagues and we managed to get all the ingredients to make cinnamon rolls to have on Christmas morning. This year, I think it is going to be tamales.

I also want to thank each and every one of you that have been so supportive and helpful during these last four months. It has been an amazing journey and I am humbled by the sacrifices you are making for our campaign and for our country.

While you are enjoying your own traditions with your loved ones please remember those that are unable to be around their family. I know from personal experience that this is a tough time of the year for folks to be separated from those they love.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a truly Happy New Year,

Will

Afghanistan - Factors Impacting Our Civilian Strategy

 
On Tuesday, President Obama outlined his Afghanistan strategy. We all know that the brave men and women in our military, intelligence and security forces can achieve any goal, once they are provided with the resources necessary to do so, and the President’s decision to provide those resources in the near future is commendable. However, his decision to identify an arbitrary deadline for withdrawal – without consideration for the conditions on the ground – is ill-advised.

The war in Afghanistan is important to all Americans – our success directly impacts our safety and security. But, it is especially important to the citizens in District 23: So many members of our armed forces live in or near the District – almost everyone here has a first or second degree connection to the theatre. So, while all Americans will bear the financial cost of this war, the residents of District 23 view the cost in terms more valuable than dollars. It is for that reason that whatever the plan, our armed forces receive our support.

The President’s plan was comprised of three parts: a military strategy; a civilian strategy; and a partnership with Pakistan. Many others will address the plan at great length over the next few weeks. Having spent a significant amount of time in the region, however, I wanted to share my thoughts on some of Afghanistan’s regional peculiarities, and the very real threat that al-Qa’ida still poses.

In order for American foreign policy to be effective, it must take into account regional peculiarities. The majority of Afghanistan and the border region of Pakistan is dominated by complex tribalism. The Pashtuns are the ethno-linguistic group that dominates this region and is a society consisting of many tribes and clans. Once over tea while I was serving overseas, a Pashtun tribal elder told me a well known South Asian saying about the Pashtuns. He said that the people who live in this region have been Afghans for 8 decades or Pakistanis for 5 decades; they have been Muslims for 13 centuries, but they have been Pashtuns for over 3 millennium. Our civilian strategy in Afghanistan must not only address religious and national differences, but tribal ones as well.

Afghanistan is still lawless. This is why the tribal area of Afghanistan and Pakistan is the seat of power for al-Qa’ida leadership. Even though the Afghan military, security and law-enforcement organizations are producing more capable troops every day, the Afghan government is still ill-prepared to take over all operations. Despite its recent progress, this simple fact remains: Afghanistan has never had any effective national entity that could effectively project power throughout the entire country.

The lack of security in the region limits economic growth, compounding the problem of violence and feeling of hopelessness. If an Afghan is unable to safely drive from a provincial capital to the national capital of Kabul, then any type of real commerce will be unattainable. Greater physical security and widespread adherence to the rule of law will translate into greater opportunity. When more of the Afghan population is able to work to shelter and feed their families – instead of turning to the Taliban for support – violence will decline.

Over the last 8 years, many individuals with good intentions involved in setting policy on Afghanistan have made a number of poor decisions. Our foreign policy has three aspects: military force, diplomacy and humanitarian aid. In Afghanistan, we have conducted 8 years of successful military operations but the same cannot be said for the other two aspects of our foreign policy. There is a disturbing trend within the ranks of our senior lawmakers, policymakers and think tanks – they generally only deal with westernized citizens from Afghanistan. Just like in our own country, many leaders from Afghanistan are out of touch with their population, motivated by the desire to stay in power rather than an interest in helping the larger community. Additionally, over the last decade, an increasing number of bureaucrats in Washington believe they are better positioned to make decisions concerning the battle space than our military and civilian leaders on the ground. And some of our leaders aren’t making it any easier to adopt a winning strategy in Afghanistan. Many of them fail to recognize that al-Qa’ida and the Taliban are not one and the same. The Taliban and al-Qa’ida are two “organizations”, motivated by different goals, and should be approached as such.

It takes more than a couple of hundred words to fully explain the major problems of U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan and solutions to these problems will have to be incredibly nuanced. However to pursue a proper civilian strategy, the U.S. should focus accordingly: engage politically and diplomatically not just on a national level but on a provincial level as well; directly control how humanitarian aid is spent in Afghanistan; continue to entice the Pakistani government to do more against the Taliban; and, take every opportunity to dismantle the Taliban as it currently exists.