TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

U.S., NATO Order Full Review Of Mission In Afghanistan

ADVERTISEMENT

By THOM SHANKER and STEVEN LEE MYERS, The New York Times

Published: December 16, 2007

WASHINGTON - Concerned about the prospect of failure in Afghanistan, the Bush administration and NATO have begun three top-to-bottom reviews of the entire mission, from security and counterterrorism to political consolidation and economic development, U.S. and alliance officials said.

The reviews are an acknowledgment of the need for greater coordination in fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan, halting the rising opium production and trafficking that finances the insurgency and helping the Kabul government extend its legitimacy and control.

Taken together, these efforts reflect a growing apprehension that one of the administration's most important legacies - routing Taliban and al-Qaida forces in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks - may slip away, administration officials said.

Unlike the administration's review of Iraq policy a year ago, which was announced with fanfare and resulted in a large increase in troops, the U.S. reviews of the Afghan strategy have not been announced and are not expected to result in a similar infusion of combat forces.

The administration is committed to finding an international coordinator, described as a "super envoy," to synchronize the full range of efforts in Afghanistan, and to continue pressing for more NATO troops to fight an insurgency that made 2007 the most violent year since the Taliban and al-Qaida were routed in December 2001.

While there is a sense that the troop buildup in Iraq has turned around a dire situation, the Afghanistan effort has begun to drift, officials said. That prompted Bush's national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, to oversee internal deliberations that resulted in the push for new reviews.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT