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General McChrystal in Afghanistan hearing

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The United States will reverse Taliban momentum within a year and accomplish its mission in Afghanistan, but it will be “undeniably difficult”
and costly, the top American commander there has said. General Stanley McChrystal, making his first appearance in Congress since his grim August assessment warned the mission would fail without more troops, praised President Barack
Obama’s decision last week to deploy 30,000 additional forces. “We can and will accomplish this mission,” McChrystal said in prepared testimony to Congress. Katy Clark reports. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

• BBC coverage of the conflict with the Taliban
• President Obama’s Afghanistan strategy
• Background Brief: Taliban insurgency

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MARCO WERMAN: I’m Marco Werman and this is The World.  The top US military commander in Afghanistan said today that President Obama’s decision to send 30,000 more troops can reverse the momentum of the Taliban.  General Stanley McChrystal appeared at a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee in Washington.  McChrystal testified that his forces can accomplish their mission in Afghanistan, but he warned that the task ahead will be difficult and costly.  The World’s Katy Clark reports.

KATY CLARK: It was General McChrystal’s first appearance on Capitol Hill since August. That’s when he warned that the Afghan mission would fail without additional troops.  Last week, President Obama said he would send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.  The first wave, 1,500 Marines, is expected to arrive later this month.  McChrystal had asked for 40,000 additional troops.  Today, though, the general said he fully supports the President’s decision, and he said he believes he now has the resources needed to succeed in Afghanistan.

GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL: My confidence derives first from the Afghans’ resolve since it’s their actions that will ultimately matter most in ending this conflict.

CLARK: McChrystal went on to say that the insurgency the US is battling in Afghanistan is not a popular one.

MCCHRYSTAL: The Taliban have no widespread constituency, have a history of failure in power, and lack an appealing vision.

CLARK: Nevertheless, they’re still causing significant problems in Afghanistan.  McChrystal was asked whether he thought President Obama’s plan to begin withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan starting in July 2011 might simply encourage the Taliban to lay low until then?      McChrystal said that’s not a situation he worries about.

MCCHRYSTAL: What happens is, during that period, as we protect Afghan people along with our Afghan partners, and build up a way of life and convince the Afghan people that they have a stake in this better way of life, then the society becomes more durable. It becomes more difficult to coerce, because the people have something to protect. And they’ve got something to lose which they don’t want to lose.

CLARK: But McChrystal conceded that a lot of that will depend on the Afghan people trusting their own government. Afghan president Hamid Karzai has been accused of doing little to stem corruption.   Here’s US ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, who testified alongside General McChrystal today.

KARL EIKENBERRY: This is going to be a very uphill fight that the government of Afghanistan has to wage. I will make the point that President Karzai, in his inauguration speech, he did take this on, but actions are going to be required.

CLARK: Eikenberry and McChrystal also faced questions today from Pennsylvania Democrat, Robert Brady, about Pakistan’s role in the war being waged in Afghanistan.

ROBERT BRADY: The American people are not going to support the deployment of 30,000 people on a bank shot, on an indirect strategy to try to deal with a very direct problem.  And I understand that the prevention of a re-emergence of a sanctuary in Afghanistan has real value, but it’s pretty clear to me that one of the central focal points of this mission is to help the Pakistani government survive and help it gain its footing and its credibility. I do think we need to articulate that.

CLARK: Neither General McChrystal nor Ambassador Eikenberry wanted to talk much about how far the United States planned to pursue the Taliban in Pakistan.  Instead they focused on presenting a united front on Afghanistan.  But some watching today’s testimony still had questions about what success in Afghanistan would mean, and whether success is even possible.   Mackenzie Eaglen is a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

MACKENZIE EAGLEN: It depends, and that is because it’s a question of resources at this point.  And all White House indicators are that this is the last best chance to turn things around, as evidenced by the July 2011 target withdrawal date to begin turning responsibility over to Afghanistan forces.

CLARK: For his part, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said today in Kabul that his country wants to assume responsibility for its own security as soon as possible, but he warned that it could be at least 15 years before it could do so.  For The World, this is Katy Clark.

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