Afghan Insurgents Seek Defeat Of Second Superpower, Gates Says
The Afghan-Pakistan border area is “where the mujahedeen defeated the other superpower,” Gates said at a forum taped by CNN in Washington yesterday, referring to the defeat of the Soviet army by Islamic fighters in the 1980s. “And their view is they now have the opportunity to defeat a second superpower.”
Gates, joined at the event by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will be a major influence as President Barack Obama weighs changes in the U.S. war strategy in Afghanistan. The White House is considering its options after the new top U.S. commander in the NATO-led military campaign, General Stanley McChrystal, said he would need more troops to carry it out.
“Theres no question in my mind that if the Taliban took control of significant portions of Afghanistan, that would be added space for al-Qaeda to strengthen itself and do more recruitment and more fundraising,” said Gates, 66, who stayed on from President George W. Bushs administration at Obamas request. The defense secretary met with the president yesterday before the forum.
In the wide-ranging interview by CNNs chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour and Frank Sesno, the director of George Washington Universitys School of Media and Public Affairs and a former CNN bureau chief, Gates and Clinton discussed Pakistan, Iran and the effective use of American power. The event, held at George Washington University, is scheduled to be broadcast today.
Iranian Disclosures
Gates signaled that Iran has other nuclear facilities that it should disclose to make progress in talks with the U.S. and its European allies.
The U.S. negotiating position depends on “what nuclear sites theyd be prepared to be transparent about that have not been declared at this point,” Gates said.
Iran told United Nations nuclear inspectors last month that it is building an underground nuclear-fuel plant, a facility that the U.S., Britain and France said was a secret site.
On Afghanistan, Gates has withheld extensive comment on what direction he supports, except to say McChrystal has persuaded him that a larger U.S. military presence in the war- ravaged country wouldnt backfire with a strategy that emphasizes protecting civilians.
McChrystal Comments
Gates has backed Obamas need to review the strategy, and indirectly knocked public statements such as McChrystals recent interviews and a speech in London last week outlining his views.
“The important thing is for the president to hear the advice of his commanders and to have the advantage of hearing that advice in private,” Gates said.
Gates pledged to heed the call of Republicans in Congress to have McChrystal testify to lawmakers, saying he would deliver the commander as soon as the president makes a decision on strategy in Afghanistan.
Gates also said that “while there may be some short-term uncertainty on the part of our allies, in terms of” a revised Afghan strategy, “there should be no uncertainty in terms of our determination to remain in Afghanistan and to continue to build a relationship of partnership and trust with the Pakistanis. Thats long term.”
Clintons Emphasis
Clinton, 61, emphasized the need for the military in Afghanistan to provide security so that civilians from her State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development can operate safely and effectively.
She expects to increase the number of civilians working in Afghanistan to 1,000 by the end of the year, from about 300 in March.
The internal administration debate over direction on Afghanistan is “one of the most open, the most thorough that Ive read about,” Clinton said.