Simon Tisdall: Sorry General Petraeus, Iraq and Afghanistan are only too similar
[Simon Tisdall is an assistant editor of the Guardian and a foreign affairs columnist.]
General David Petraeus, who commanded US forces in Iraq and does so now in Afghanistan, argues the two conflicts differ in key respects. But it was plain from Barack Obama's Oval office speech yesterday that, in the president's mind at least, there are some basic similarities. That's a shift from his 2008 campaign when he contrasted Afghanistan, the "necessary war", with Iraq – George Bush's "war of choice".
Announcing an end to combat operations in Iraq, Obama reiterated his determination to end "open-ended war" in Afghanistan too, by beginning a troop drawdown next summer. "As was the case in Iraq, we can't do for Afghans what they must ultimately do for themselves. That's why we're training Afghan security forces and supporting a political resolution," he said.
Obama drew a parallel with Petraeus's successful 2007 Iraq surge – he gave no credit to Bush – and his own decision to send reinforcements to Afghanistan. "I've ordered the deployment of additional troops ... who are fighting to break the Taliban's momentum. As with the surge in Iraq, these forces will be in place for a limited time to provide space for the Afghans to ... secure their own future."
Politically speaking, these foreign entanglements formed part of Bush's unlovely, unavoidable legacy. But Obama's uneasiness, some would say queasiness, over this poisoned inheritance was evident from the start...
Read entire article at Guardian (UK)
General David Petraeus, who commanded US forces in Iraq and does so now in Afghanistan, argues the two conflicts differ in key respects. But it was plain from Barack Obama's Oval office speech yesterday that, in the president's mind at least, there are some basic similarities. That's a shift from his 2008 campaign when he contrasted Afghanistan, the "necessary war", with Iraq – George Bush's "war of choice".
Announcing an end to combat operations in Iraq, Obama reiterated his determination to end "open-ended war" in Afghanistan too, by beginning a troop drawdown next summer. "As was the case in Iraq, we can't do for Afghans what they must ultimately do for themselves. That's why we're training Afghan security forces and supporting a political resolution," he said.
Obama drew a parallel with Petraeus's successful 2007 Iraq surge – he gave no credit to Bush – and his own decision to send reinforcements to Afghanistan. "I've ordered the deployment of additional troops ... who are fighting to break the Taliban's momentum. As with the surge in Iraq, these forces will be in place for a limited time to provide space for the Afghans to ... secure their own future."
Politically speaking, these foreign entanglements formed part of Bush's unlovely, unavoidable legacy. But Obama's uneasiness, some would say queasiness, over this poisoned inheritance was evident from the start...