Afghanistan: to surge or not to surge

Faiz Rehman
The day after the US House of Representatives passed the historic bill for aid to Pakistan, the International Republican Institute (IRI) released a revealing survey, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by the co-author of the now controversial Kerry-Lugar bill, Senator John Kerry, invited Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US and the UK Dr Maleeha Lodhi, currently a fellow at the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Institute in Washington, DC, and two other prominent scholars, Prof. Steve Cole of the New America Foundation and Milt Bearden, former CIA station chief in Islamabad for their testimonies on US Afghan policy’s implications for Pakistan.
The Obama Administration seems split over how to deal with the escalating violence and increasing Taliban influence and gain of territory in Afghanistan. With the leak of a bleak assessment of the situation in Afghanistan by the top US soldier, General Stanely McChrystal, and his request for 40,000 more US troops for his counter-insurgency operations, the debate over the workable strategy has gained momentum. The other camp, lead by Vice President Joe Biden, not only is in no mood to grant the general’s wish, it is lobbying the president to draw down the number of troops and rely more on predator attacks to eliminate the Al-Qaeda and Taliban leadership. This group has been motivated by the recent target killings of the notorious Tehrik-e-Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and other prominent leaders.
Whatever Obama eventually decides, to surge or not to surge, or maybe a pullout, is a matter of concern for Senator Kerry. The hearing he chaired along with the ranking member Senator Lugar, was designed to bring to light the impact of the US actions in Afghanistan on Pakistan. To quote the exact words of Senator Kerry: “The actions we take in Afghanistan will have direct repercussions in Pakistan.”
Most senators at the hearing were anxious to know the Pakistani side of the story. The hearing revolved around the only Pakistani witness on the panel: Dr Maleeha Lodhi, her testimony and the answers. Dr Lodhi vehemently opposed the proposed troops surge and cautioned the US lawmakers over a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan. Dr Lodhi’s following five points against the proposed surge received a lot of attention and discussion from the senators. She said: