Afghanistan
and Pakistan - An American Century
Afghanistan/Pakistan Map courtesy of CENTCOM
.
I am
here today to tell you that
I am
guided by one overwhelming
Conviction
and passion: This
Century
must be an American
Century.
In an American Century,
America
has the strongest military in the
World.
In an American Century,
America
leads the free world and the
Free
world leads the entire world.
.
- Mitt Romney,
Remarks
at The Citadel,
10/7/11
.
Enjoying the sanctuary of the Taliban
government in Afghanistan, al Qaeda set in motion the conspiracy that killed so
many Americans on September 11, 2001. We learned many bitter lessons that day,
including that we are not safe from enemies who plot freely against us from the
other side of the world. That is why so many of our best and bravest young men
and women are risking their lives in Afghanistan. Our mission in Afghanistan is
to eliminate al Qaeda from the region and degrade the Taliban and other
insurgent groups to the point where they are not existential threats to the
Afghan government and do not destabilize Pakistan, with its stock of nuclear
weapons. Our objective is to ensure that Afghanistan will never again become a
launching pad for terror and to send a message to any other nation that would
harbor terrorists with designs on the American homeland.
.
OBAMA'S FAILURE
.
Much of the mission
has been accomplished through the courage and dedication of our troops. The
killing of Osama bin Laden was a landmark in the struggle for which President
Obama deserves credit. Much more, however, remains to be done. Unfortunately,
President Obama has repeatedly frustrated and imperiled the American mission
through a series of unwise decisions.
After a protracted
deliberation process, President Obama in December 2009 announced he would
support a “surge” that would entail introducing an additional 30,000 troops
into Afghanistan. But in the very same speech announcing the surge, he put
forward a timetable for withdrawal. The mixed message left our Afghan allies in
doubt about our resolve and encouraged the Taliban to believe that they could
wait us out.
This past June, President Obama disregarded the counsel of his top
military commanders, including General David Petraeus, and announced a full
withdrawal of those 30,000 surge troops by September 2012. That date falls
short of the commanders’ reported recommendation that the troops remain through
the end of 2012 and the Afghan “fighting season” to solidify our gains. That
date also happens to be just weeks before a U.S. presidential election. There is
no military rationale for it. It raises questions about whether the timing is
politically inspired.
Whatever the
motivation behind the decision, it means that our military will be compelled to
begin moving troops and equipment out of Afghanistan in the middle of the
fighting season, taking away forces and resources it needs to combat the enemy.
.
MITT'S PLAN
.
Mitt Romney will never
make national-security decisions based upon electoral politics. Upon taking
office, he will review our transition to the Afghan military by holding
discussions with our commanders in the field. He will order a full interagency
assessment of our military and assistance presence in Afghanistan to determine
the level required to secure our gains and to train Afghan forces to the point
where they can protect the sovereignty of Afghanistan from the tyranny of the
Taliban. Withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan under a Romney
administration will be based on conditions on the ground as assessed by our
military commanders.
.
Ensure Buy-In from Afghan and Pakistani Governments
.
To defeat the
insurgency in Afghanistan, the United States will need the cooperation of both
the Afghan and Pakistani governments. It is in the interests of all three
nations to see that Afghanistan and the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region are
rid of the Taliban and other insurgent groups. Mitt Romney will work with both
the Afghan government and Pakistan to ensure that those nations are fully
contributing to success in Afghanistan. But we will only persuade Afghanistan
and Pakistan to be resolute if they are convinced that the United States will
itself be resolute. Only an America that appears fully committed to success
will eliminate the incentives for them to hedge their bets by aligning with
opposing forces.
.
The United States must
be clear in what we require of both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Afghan President
Hamid Karzai should understand that our commitment must be met with reciprocal
efforts to crack down on corruption in his government, respect free and fair
elections as required by the Afghan constitution, and coordinate with the
United States on fighting the narcotics trade that fuels the insurgency.
Pakistan should understand that any connection between insurgent forces and
Pakistan’s security and intelligence forces must be severed. The United States
enjoys significant leverage over both of these nations. We should not be shy
about using it.
Related Issues
- Africa
- Iran
- Israel
- Russia
.
.
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VIDEOS at
AubreyJ.org:
Image Credit Mitt Romney
In case you missed their speeches… here they are
again, in full.
Latest round of Speakers on top
.
AubreyJ……….
ROMNEY/RYAN2012
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