Lead from behind is path in Afghanistan

By Christopher B. Anderson

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“The dark side of this globalized world came to the forefront for the American people on Sept. 11, 2001. The immediate threat demonstrated by the deadliest attacks ever launched upon American soil demanded strong and durable approaches to defend our homeland.” - National Security Strategy, May 2010

This theme resonates throughout the NSS and subsequently its translation into the National Military Strategy, or NMS - the imperative on the defeat of the violent extremist threat and disruption of terrorist activity. Certainly, these strategic frameworks of the commander in chief and Defense Department, respectively, set the course for our nation but enmeshed throughout their vision is a deliberate commitment to our allies.

The NMS specifically highlights the role of NATO in the “long war” and our objectives in Afghanistan. Indeed, the anti-Western, radical agenda of al-Qaida and its affiliates in Central Asia underscored by a dangerous commitment to tribal and religious identities poses the gravest threat to protection of the homeland. Toward that end, these violent extremists enjoy safe harbor in various parts of the region and still have protection in parts of Afghanistan despite our advances over the past 12 years. They finance their movement from sales of opium in Afghanistan and have a tribal mindset that threatens the democratic principles of the United States and our NATO allies.

In recent weeks, the Taliban announced establishment of a headquarters in Qatar, one of our most critical allies in the war on terror. Ostensibly, the office was created with an eye on reconciliation. The U.S. government has been pursuing reconciliation efforts for more than five years as part of an interagency agenda to reintegrate the Taliban into Afghanistan society without fear of retribution. It is still unclear exactly how this nascent reconciliation initiative will unfold, but President Hamid Karzai and regional neighbors are skeptical of the Taliban.

In the post-Osama bin Laden era, al-Qaida is still a formative enemy of the United States and NATO as a whole. Specifically, while al-Qaida was centrally controlled pre-2001, it now acts more diffused and its terrorist members are encouraged to wage jihad alone or in small, concentrated nodes where they can inflict damage to garner attention to their cause to try to weaken its opponents. This new command and control structure is alarming as it poses more challenges to disrupt al-Qaida operations and dissuade them from pursuit of terrorist activity.

On the other hand, there is evidence that al-Qaida is weakening specifically throughout Afghanistan. The International Security Assistance Force's set/clear/hold/build/transfer counter insurgency, or COIN, construct masterminded primarily by Gen. David Petraeus is paying dividends as we enter the transfer phase before complete handover in December 2014.

Undoubtedly, the U.S. Special Operations Forces, Department of State and non-governmental organizations will play a critical role in a future NATO footprint in 2015 and beyond. NATO essentially integrated a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan with rule of law, free enterprise, respect for human rights/dignity and the pursuit of happiness as the cornerstone of the COIN operation, which it must protect with boots on the ground beyond the formal relinquishment of security to Afghanistan National Security Forces and Afghanistan National Police in December 2014.

Lead from behind proved successful in Libya and must be the construct for years to follow in Afghanistan as NATO partners with Afghanistan. The NMS of the United States explicitly asserts we must deny al-Qaida a safe haven and repudiate the Taliban's ability to marginalize the elected government.

To be sure, the U.S. leadership will endure in Afghanistan beyond 2014. NATO and the United States must persist in securing the objective of a democratic Afghanistan, where al-Qaida is not free to plan and execute terrorist attacks in pursuit of its transnational agenda.

The NMS unambiguously reminds us (May 2011): “Let us not forget, the Nation remains at war abroad to defend against and defeat threats to our homeland.”

Christopher B. Anderson of Cedar Rapids, an account manager for Rockwell Collins, is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves as Director of Operations in the 307th Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, La. He has flown in combat and worked as a regional analyst to help develop the strategy for Central Asia States. Comments: cbander2@rockwellcollins.com