Obama: 'Exit strategy' for Afghanistan too

by Mark Silva

President Barack Obama, who spelled out his plans for withdrawing American troops from Iraq today, says he went to the Marines' Camp Lejeune for the announcement both to thank the troops and "to be very clear about our plans in Iraq, and that we are going to bring this war to an end.''

At the same time, Obama is boosting the American deployment in Afghanistan, even while he conducts a "soup to nuts'' review of the situation there to see what the best way forward may be. In Afghanistan, Obama says, he also is looking for "a clear exit strategy.''

Asked if the American invasion of Iraq, which he opposed as a state senator with no vote on the matter at the time was worthwhile, in retrospect, Obama says: "I think we can say without equivocation that our military was successful.''

Was it worth the more than 4,000 American lives lost, tens of thousands of casualties and many more Iraqis killed?

"Well, you know, I don't want to look backwards,'' Obama says in an interview with Jim Lehrer of the Newshour, which PBS will air this evening. "As you know, I opposed this war, I did not think it was the right decision, but I don't want to in any way diminish the enormous sacrifices that have been made by our men and women in uniform....

"I will tell you that the most sobering things that I do as president relate to the deployment of these young men and women,'' Obama tells Lehrer. "Signing letters of those who have fallen in battle, it is a constant reminder of how critical these decisions are and the importance of the Commander in Chief, Congress, all of us who are in positions of power to make sure that we have thought through these decisions free of politics and we are doing what's necessary for the safety and security of the American people.''

The Iraq withdrawal was announced at a Marine base that will be deploying an expeditionary force of about 8,000 to Afghanistan this Spring, as part of a plan to boost the U.S. deployment there by 17,000. And Obama, interviewed by Lehrer at the base, spoke to this.

"We've seen a sense of drift in the mission in Afghanistan, and that's why I've ordered a head to toe, soup to nuts review of our approach in Afghanistan,'' said Obama. "Now, I can articulate some very clear, minimal goals in Afghanistan, and that is that we make sure that it's not a safe haven for Al Qaeda, they are not able to launch attacks of the sort that happened on 911 against the American home land or American interest.

"How we achieve that initial goal, what kinds of strategies and tactics we need to put in place, I don't think that we've thought it through, and we haven't used the entire arsenal of American power,'' he said. "We've been thinking very militarily, but we haven't been as effective in thinking diplomatically, we haven't been thinking effectively around the development side of the equation, you know, what are we doing to replace poppy crops for Afghans that allow them to support themselves.

"Obviously, we haven't been thinking regionally, recognizing that Afghanistan is actually an Afghanistan/Pakistan problem, because right now the militants, the extremists who are attacking U.S. troops are often times coming over the border from Pakistan.''
The envoy whom Obama has assigned to the region, seasoned diplomat Richard Holbrooke, will advise Obama before the president explains "to the American people and Congress about how exactly we are going to be moving forward in Afghanistan...

"I think there are achievable goals in Afghanistan, and the achievable goal is to make sure it's not a safe haven for terrorists, to make sure that the Afghan people are able to determine their own fate,'' Obama said. "One of the things that I think we have to communicate in Afghanistan is that we have no interest or aspiration to be there over the long term. There's a long history, as you know, in Afghanistan of rebuffing what is seen as an occupying force, and we have to be mindful of that history as we think about our strategy.

"Our goal in the region is to keep the American people safe. And I think that the more we can accomplish that through diplomacy, and the more we can accomplish that by partnering with actors in the region, rather than simply applying U.S. military forces, the better off we're going to be. But I don't want to pre-judge this review. That's why I've asked - we're looking at a wide range of view points that are being brought together, and a set of recommendations will be provided to me shortly....
Asked why the U.S. is still in Afghanistan, after invading to remove the Taliban in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the president said what he has said before of the continuing conflict there, with the Taliban resurgent in the region.
"My assessment is that we took our eye off the ball,'' Obama told Lehrer. "I mean Iraq was an, obviously, enormous diversion of resources and attention. Now, we've had a long debate about the wisdom of having gone into Iraq in the first place, I don't want to relitigate that.
"But just objectively, there's no doubt that had we stayed more focused on Afghanistan and the problems there, and had we thought through more effectively Pakistan and its role in this whole process of dealing with extremists, that we would probably be further along now than we are, but, you know, that's history.
"We now have to move forward. It's my job to come up with the best possible approach given some of these mistakes that have been made, and the fact that the situation right now has deteriorated badly in Afghanistan....
"I think until we have a clear strategy, we're not going to have a clear exit strategy,'' he said. "And my goal is to get U.S. troops home as quickly as possible without leaving a situation that allows for potential terrorist attacks against the United States.
"Keep in mind something that is important, and that is, Afghanistan is not a U.S. mission, it's a NATO mission, and one of the things that I think has been lost is the sense of international partnership in dealing with the problem of international terrorism.
"Part of our goal is, when I go to the NATO Summit in April, to have a conversation with our NATO allies, many of whom have put troops into Afghanistan, have made enormous sacrifices, have lost their own young men and women in the battle there, to figure out how do we coordinate more effectively to move the ball forward.''
Should the mission in Iraq now be considered a success, the interviewer asked?
"Well, I think what we can say unequivocally is that our military succeeded in every mission that was given to them,'' Obama said. "They consistently performed above and beyond expectations under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. I don't think that we can rightly say that the strategy cooked up by our civilian leadership, with respect to either going in in the first place or how the war was managed, was a success.
"But I think that we can say without equivocation that our military was successful, and if we get it right over the next few months and years, that there is the strong possibility that we can leave Iraq as a stable, peaceful partner in the region,'' he said.
Has it been worth the 4,200 American lives lost and 35,000 wounded and perhaps 100,000 Iraqi's killed, Lehrer asked the president.
"Well, you know, I don't want to look backwards,'' Obama said. "As you know, I opposed this war, I did not think it was the right decision, but I don't want to in any way diminish the enormous sacrifices that have been made by our men and women in uniform.
"I think the fact that Saddam Hussein is gone is a good thing. I think the fact that Iraq has now carried out a series of elections with diminished violence each time, I think that's a good thing. A lot of the ultimate outcome in Iraq now is going to depend on how the political issues that have dogged Iraq for a very long time get resolved, and frankly we have not made the kind of progress over the last year to 2 years despite the surge -- we have not made the progress that needs to be made on the hydrocarbons law, the oil law, on making determinations about central government versus provincial government power.''
Some in the president's own party are suggesting that the withdrawal from Iraq is coming too slowly.
"Well, what I would say that is that they maybe weren't paying attention to what I said during the campaign,'' Obama said. "I said that we were going to take 16 months to withdraw our combat troops from Iraq. We are now taking 18 months rather than 16.
"I said that we would have a residual force, a transition force that could continue so stand up Iraq security forces, provide them logistical support and training and also make sure that we are protecting U.S. civilian and military personnel,'' he said. "I said that we would have a counterterrorism capacity to make sure that al-Qaeda or other extremist organizations did not try to take advantage of a diminished U.S. presence there.
"So everything that I said I would do during the campaign I am now doing. Obviously because of consultation with commanders on the ground, something I also said we would do, there are some modifications to the plan.
"But this is basically the thrust that I have been talking about for several years and I think it is a responsible solution... I think it is the right way to go.''
Is he concerned that Republican Sen. John McCain and John Boehner, the Republican House leader, have praised the plan while some Democrats are criticizing it?
"I don't make these decisions based on polls or popularity,'' Obama said. "I make the decisions based on what I think is best. This is consistent with what I said during the campaign. The fact -- if anything I think people should be interested in the fact that there's been a movement in the direction of what I thought was going to be the right plan in the first place.''
It's been slightly more than five weeks now that Obama is president, Lehrer noted, turning to other questions.
"I've got a full plate,'' Obama said.
Does he "feel burdened by'' that plate?
"I think that we are at an extraordinary moment that is full or peril but full of possibility and I think that's the time you want to be president,'' Obama replied.
"I think there's a sense that right now we are having to make some very big decisions that will help determine the direction of this country and in ways large and small the direction of the world for the next generation,'' he said. "And I won't lie to you. I wish that they weren't all having to be made at once. It would nice to be able to stage them on one another.''