Obama urged to keep McChrystal approach



The counter-insurgency strategy now being implemented by US and Nato troops in Afghanistan has been so closely identified with Gen Stanley McChrystal that it was referred to as the "McChrystal effect". Even the tight-knit crew of believers with whom he surrounded himself was nicknamed "Team McChrystal".

But with the team dismantled and America's top general in Afghanistan fired for making impertinent and some say disloyal remarks about President Barack Obama and senior administration officials in Rolling Stone magazine, doubts have been cast upon his approach to the war. Critics of the Afghan war have cast doubt over his approach. There has been a dramatic increase of suicide bombings and assassinations in the first four months of 2010; indeed, June may be the deadliest month for Nato in the entire nine-year war with 73 soldiers dead so far. Furthermore, the much anticipated summer campaign to take Kandahar from the Taliban has been delayed until autumn.

Still, in Helmand where American and British forces launched Operation Moshtarak in February as the first major test of the general's counter-insurgency doctrine, there are early signs the strategy may be successful, said Prof Theo Farrell of the department of war studies at King's College, London. "There is no doubt the McChrystal approach is bearing fruit. It is not happening at a pace we are looking for but it takes time to achieve results. He has been trying to achieve progress on a Washington timeline and counter-insurgency just takes longer to take effect."

In Nad e Ali, the northern part of the province where the British soldiers led the February offensive insurgents have been pushed to the outskirts and the police force is improving under a new police chief. In addition, 3,000 people turned up to vote in three shura elections. The "McChrystal effect" of having a "politically led, population-centric" approach with a clear strategy is working, said Mr Farrell, author of report on the Helmand operation published yesterday by the Helmand operation at the Royal United Services Institute, a defence and security think-tank in London.

The success in Nad e Ali was partly because British and Afghan forces had been working for more than a year before the start of the offensive to bring institutions and development to Afghans in the area and to work with tribal leaders. Remarkably, the British troops took the region without civilian casualties. In contrast, in the southern Marjah area, the battle has been harder for American marines because the area was under Taliban rule for two years and before that it was controlled by drug barons. The situation was far worse than US military officials realised.

Time is an important factor in any assesssment of Gen McChrystal's performance. He was keenly aware that the clock set by Washington to begin withdrawing by July 2011 was ticking loudly and that he did not have much time to turn the Marjah mission around, he told a group of Afghan and international officials last month. "This is a bleeding ulcer right now," he said. "We don't have as many days as we'd like."

McChrystal's strategy calls for restrained use of firepower so civilians are not harmed and stricter rules of engagement against insurgents. But the Americans are finding difficult to adhere to this because the insurgents are putting up a good fight. Gen McChrystal's theory was that the Taliban's political campaign to control the south is more damaging than their military operations because insurgents promise Afghans security and good governance that has eluded them for three decades.

The Taliban's success in establishing parallel governments has put the Afghan government, which will eventually need to provide security for their people, on the backfoot. "Afghans do not want the Taliban. They are not a popular movement," he used to say. Under his direction, the strategy has shifted to emphasizing the promotion of Afghan governance. All this takes time, noted Mr Farrell. "It took the British around 18 months to stabilise Nad e Ali. Progress in Marjah ought to be measured along a similar timeline", he said.

But the Americans may not have that long. Gen David Petraeus, Gen McChrystal's mentor and America's most celebrated war leader of recent times, who is credited with bringing Iraq back from the brink of failure, has been called to stake his reputation on working a second miracle in Afghanistan. He has been put in charge of a war that he has said would be a tougher fight than what the US faced in Iraq.

Iraq is largely an urban and educated society, and the government hopes to exploit its vast oil wealth to pay for building institutions. The insurgency was also mainly in the cities, and Iraq's powerful sheikhs posed an important challenge to al Qa'eda's authority. Iraq's future may be uncertain, but Gen Petraeus wrote the counter-insurgency doctrine and orchestrated a strategy with the Iraqi leadership to bring down violence to a level that is allowing the US to exit with some dignity.

By contrast, the Afghan war is in the rural heartlands, and the educated classes required to rebuild the country have fled. Those who remain are targets of an assassination campaign that appears geared at ensuring Afghanistan remains ungovernable. The country's economic potential is in its mineral and metal wealth, but it is many years away from extracting enough to make a difference. Gen. McChrystal built good relationships with senior Afghan officials, including the president, Hamid Karzai, and the defence minister, Rahim Wardak, who are sorry to see him go.

One of the chief complaints of the Afghans is that American generals and commanders have short tours. Any experience and lessons of the counry leaves with them, as a new team arrives to replace them and start all over again. With Gen Petraeus in place, they will get someone who is the godfather of the counter-insurgency doctrine that Gen McChrystal put in place. It is doubtful there will be a radical change in approach.

@Email:hghafour@thenational.ae

Mission%3A%20Impossible%20-%20Dead%20Reckoning%20Part%20One
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Christopher%20McQuarrie%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tom%20Cruise%2C%20Hayley%20Atwell%2C%20Pom%20Klementieff%2C%20Simon%20Pegg%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS

Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
Youngest driver to start an F1 race (17 years 166 days – Australia 2015)
Youngest F1 driver to score points (17 years 180 days - Malaysia 2015)
Youngest driver to lead an F1 race (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
Youngest on F1 podium finish (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest F1 winner (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest multiple F1 race winner (Mexico 2017/18)
Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

UAE SQUAD

Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.