New Strategy for Afghanistan

BBC News: Reports that General McChrystal, the US Commander in Afghanistan has stated to the Obama Administration that a new strategy is needed in Afghanistan, the face of the War has to be changed from a Western to an Afghan Face. Thus more Afghan soldiers and police are need in Afghanistan. This strategy has echoes of Vietnam and the policy that was developed by the Nixon Administration, it was called Vietnamization , having Southern Vietnam soldiers fight North Vietnam, and get the USA out of Vietnam. The end result of the Nixon policy was the peace treaty of 1973 but later the fall of South Vietnam to the Communist North. Thus to make the War in Afghanistan a pure Afghan affair, President Obama will have to build up the Armed Forces of Afghanistan and its civic authorities, the BBC reports that it will take three years to build up the Army; thus more Western Troops to fight and train the Afghan Security Forces; Obama does not have three years, he has less than a year, the Liberal base in the Democratic Party wants out of Afghanistan, they see it as another Bush 43 War, the Liberal NYT has already started to run negative stories about Afghanistan, the same pattern if followed over Iraq. Also we have the Mid Term Congressional Elections in 2010, with health care hitting the Obama poll ratings the President can not afford to be seen as another LBJ or Nixon. Thus the US military has about a year to turn Afghanistan around, after about year you will start to hear the drums for withdrawal form Afghanistan.