Obama’s War
FRONTLINE
Oct 15, 2009
“Graveyard of Empires” Tens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move in
Afghanistan, led by a new commander and armed with a counterinsurgency plan that builds on
the lessons of Iraq. But can U.S. forces succeed in a land long known as the "graveyard of
empires"?
Re-Engineering Two Nations Can the U.S. stop the Taliban in neighboring Pakistan, where
U.S. troops are not allowed and the government is weak? This eight-year-old war is being fought
on many fronts. To combat terrorism at its roots "What we found on the ground was a huge
exercise in nation building," says Smith. " With the goal of eliminating Al Qaeda we've wound
up with the immense task of re-engineering two nations."
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Echo Company in Helmand
The brunt of the work is
falling on rank-and-file
soldiers, and nowhere is it
more difficult than in the
dusty, unforgiving landscape
of Helmand province, the
Taliban stronghold in
southern Afghanistan, where
FRONTLINE embedded with
Echo Company, 2nd
Battalion, 8th Marine
Regiment. Since the Marines'
arrival in July, Helmand has
become the most lethal
battlefield in Afghanistan.
But FRONTLINE found the
Marines trying to act as
armed diplomats, attempting
to build the necessary trust
for badly needed economic
development.
Young Sergeants "It's trying to change the culture of the organization," Gen. Stanley
McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, tells FRONTLINE of the administration's plan.
"At the end of the day, our best counterinsurgents are going to be young sergeants who just have
an ability to deal with people. We've got to give them the flexibility to make decisions."
Pakistan Even as American soldiers struggle to make progress in Afghanistan village by village,
equally vexing challenges remain across the border in Pakistan. "In Afghanistan we know what
to do; we just don't know if we have the resources or the time available to do it," David
Kilcullen, a leading counterinsurgency expert, tells FRONTLINE. "The problem in Pakistan is
we're not really sure what to do."
Pakistan Reluctance When
FRONTLINE confronts the
Pakistani army about its reluctance
to take out key Taliban leaders, the
military's chief spokesman, Gen.
Athar Abbas, argues that the
accusations are misplaced. There is
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stage attacks on American forces
from the Pakistani side of the
border. "They operate from
Afghanistan. If somebody claims
that everything is happening from
this side of the border, I am sorry,
this is misplaced, and we refute it."
Few Good Options Barred from sending troops across the border, the United States is left with
few good options. No quick fix will solve Pakistan. "If we have a strategy in Pakistan," says
George Packer, a staff writer at The New Yorker, "it's to build up the civilian government to the
point where it can be a kind of counterbalance to the military and begin to reorient ...” them to
take on the militancy growing within their own borders. Can we do this?
Source: adapted from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/view/ - morelink
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Notes
Chapter 1: The Taliban Stronghold:
Battlefield scenes from Helmand province,
southern Afghanistan. The Marines' new
mission there is to stay and protect the people.
Chapter 2. On the Front Lines of
Counterinsurgency The troops struggle to
make progress village by village. All the
shooting makes it hard for the Marines and the
people to trust one another.
Chapter 3. The War's Political Front If a
counterinsurgency war is only as good as the
government it supports, can the U.S. succeed
in Afghanistan?
Chapter 4. Pakistan - Toughest Challenge of
All Can, or will, Pakistan take effective action
against the Taliban? The U.S. still seems to be
in search of a strategy with this ally.
Chapter 5. No Easy Answers The situation is
deteriorating. Gen. McChrystal is requesting
many more troops. Obama must decide
whether that's the way forward.